Social media influencer and businesswoman Mihlali Ndamase is a popular face on social media, but tweeps wasted no time dragging her when they heard she has been cast in the SABC1 soapie “Generations: The Legacy”.
Ndamase, known for her multi-award-winning content creation, and who was named in the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30, has bagged a cameo role on the long-running soap.
When the news broke on the Twitter streets, she wrote: “As my husband once said ‘B, this is fame, not clout’💅🏽”.
As my husband once said "B, this is fame, not clout" 💅🏽 https://t.co/A0Wso2ur2K
— Mihlali Ndamase 🤍 (@mihlalii_n) March 13, 2022
Speaking to IOL Entertainment, the SABC confirmed the role. "Mihlali will appear on Friday, April 22. She plays herself – a social media influencer hosting a party at our fictional club – Club Venice. Tracy, played by Zizipho Buti is very excited to meet her. As a budding journalist, she thinks Mihlali is the perfect person to work with to get eyeballs on her column. So she approaches her, hoping she will agree".
While Ndamase knows her way around a camera, she doesn’t have skills as a trained actress, however her YouTube channel is one of the most successful in the country, and she’s fantastic with her beauty tutorials and screen interviews.
Last year, her debut acting role on “Boxing Day” was met with much criticism, as is now the case with “Generations: The Legacy”.
The beauty influencer was dragged by tweeps saying that her “Boxing Day” role, where she played the minister’s girlfriend Nonceba, should have been given to a trained actor.
Now they are saying the “Generations: The Legacy” casting team need to stop using influencers and rather hire properly-trained actors for the upcoming role.
@ChrisExcel102 wrote: “The fact that Mihlal Ndamase can’t even act to save her own YouTube channel and she scooped herself an acting role on ’Generations: The legacy’ … SA entertainment industry has no shame 😭😭😭”.
The fact that Mihlal Ndamase can’t even act to save her own YouTube channel and just she scooped herself an Acting role on generations The legacy…
— ChrisExcel (@ChrisExcel102) March 13, 2022
SA entertainment industry has no shame 😭😭😭
While @Gucciairbagz commented: “It looks like ’Generations: The Legacy’s’ casting agency just scoops micro-influencers when they look for actors. The last time ’Generations’ had an elite catalogue of actors was when Nick Fury tried recruiting Khethiwe as an Avenger”.
It looks like Generations The Legacy's casting agency just scoops micro-influencers when they look for actors. The last time Generations had an elite catalogue of actors was when Nick Fury tried recruiting Khethiwe as an Avenger.
— 𝕭𝖎𝖌 𝖘𝖒𝖔𝖐𝖊 🧔🏾 (@Gucciairbagz) March 13, 2022
And @Musa____1 said: “Tomorrow when the ratings drops people act shocked but the reality is that for sometimes now these telenovelas are recruiting ’famous’ people but not talented individuals which will add value in their productions but it even works for them as they don’t pay much to hire them”.
Tomorrow when the ratings drops people act shocked but the reality is that for sometimes now these telenovela r recruiting "famous" people but not talented individuals which will add value in their productions but it even work for them as they don't pay much to hire them
— Musa____1 (@Musa____1) March 13, 2022