Entertainer Pearl Thusi says she feels protective of the South African celebrities she interviews on her talk show, "Behind The Story," which returned to TV this week for another season – it airs Wednesdays on BET Africa (DStv channel 129) at 10pm.
"Celebs tend to be misunderstood on social media, and what’s great about this show is we address the controversial and scandalous stuff, and the public gets to hear straight from the horse’s mouth," she says.
Viewers can expect a “tell all” sit down exclusive between Thusi and the likes of Gqom queen Babes Wodumo, TV and radio personality Ntando Duma, award-winning hip hop rapper AKA, The Big Secret host Masechaba Ndlovu and legendary DJ Ganyani.
These personalities will be given a platform to share their life journeys as they share parts of their lives that have never been exposed in public. It’s the first televised interview with Durban-born singer Babes Wodumo since she made headlines for an Instagram post that shocked the continent.
Ntando Duma reveals her Twitter altercation with the father of her child, while Masechaba Ndlovu shares her views on her up-coming journey after radio and DJ Ganyani takes his first in-depth discussion something he has never done in the media.
Thusi says, "There are so many memorable interviews.
"What comes to mind is one of Ntando Duma’s comments because the response reminded me of some of the answers I gave when I was young, naive and gullible in interviews.
"It’s a fine line as I do feel a responsibility to protect young people in the industry," she says.
Her role as a mother and nurturer features predominantly on social media, where she’s been posting pictures, not just of her daughter, but another little girl she appears to have adopted.
DJ Zinhle and her bestie Pearl Thusi, as well as their children. Picture: Instagram
Of this, she says only "it’s interesting" and "I’m happy".
Thusi is indeed working hard at showing how multi-faceted and multi-talented she is. The model, presenter, actress and businesswoman, is also an A-list influencer.
She appeared in the second season of Quantico, there have been stories of a biography, and her hair care brand is flourishing. Most recently she launched the Humanz platform in South Africa.
This software analyses, not only influencer profiles, but all of their followers too.
Her release statement says, "My relationship with a product has to be authentic. It is so obvious, we all know at this stage that people are getting paid.
"However, the authenticity should never be compromised. Things go viral not because of numbers only, but because they speak to people in an authentic way, it doesn’t matter how big the numbers are- content is king. It’s the content that people have to engage with- and it has to resonate."
With regard to the future Thusi said, “African entertainment is really important to me”. “I want it to be a part of my legacy, to pioneer and improve our entertainment industry."