Actress Zoe Mthiyane is the latest celebrity to sit down with host Thembekile Mrototo on 'Unfollowed.'
'Unfollowed’ is a new Showmax show that profiles and interviews public South African figures who are wrestling with life after being “cancelled” on social media.
On the fifth episode of the show, Mthiyane opens the lid on her controversial relationship with Lebo M, whom she met several years ago while touring on ‘The Lion King’.
The public drama began when Lebo M put out a press release announcing the end of their engagement, citing disagreements over a prenup.
Mthiyane quickly clapped back, claiming that the relationship had become toxic.
The pair’s back and forth on social media, which led to Lebo suing Mthiyane for R6 million in a 2016 defamation suit, is shown during the show. “He was then bashing me on every single platform,” Mthiyane explained.
She would later add, “This interview is going to get me in s***.”
Mthiyane also explained that she channelled her personal experience with Lebo M into Zitha Langa, her abusive character on 'Generations: The Legacy’.
“With that storyline, it was my character who's abusing Smanga (Moopi Mothibeli),” she said. “I even… dipped into my personal experience and channelled (Lebo M).”
Mthiyane also speaks on two separate incidents that saw her being dragged publicly: when she was arrested for drunk driving back in 2019, and when she was fired from ‘Generations: The Legacy’ in 2020.
Controversially, Mthiyane claimed that her drunk driving arrest wasn’t what it seemed to be. “I'm talking about somebody who also has contacted the police. There's police harassment. There's court harassment. There's journalistic harassment. A person who's well-connected and powerful.”
She also later added that rumours of her being drunk on set were sparked by a behind-the-scenes love triangle involving her, co-star Rapulana Seiphemo (Tau Mogale) and another woman in their circle.
“That rumour came from the very person who then fell pregnant with my fun person, and her people in production,” says Mthiyane. “I knew I was being sabotaged. I knew they were trying to get me gone.
“That started with my relationship with the father of my daughter. And that then becomes an easy narrative to reference. That has followed me ever since.”