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Acclaimed actress Thuso Mbedu hasn’t been seen on South Africa’s small screens for a month now and that’s because the acclaimed actress has said goodbye to Generations: The Legacy less than six months after signing up to play the manipulative Okuhle Cele. The actress was to have helped the soapie in its bid to reclaim the title of most-watched show in SA.
But three well-placed sources told City Press this week that one of South Africa’s favourite It girls quit the show because she wasn’t offered enough money when her contract came up for renewal.
The sources say she was also unhappy that the contract did not allow her to take roles outside of Generations as her international prospects heat up.
‘I don’t expect an Emmy’
Last week the Safta winner learnt that she had been nominated for the International Emmy best actress award – the second year in a row – for her role as Winnie in the second season of the Mzansi Magic drama Is’thunzi. The show made waves because it addresses real issues, such as the rape and violence young women in Mzansi face.
City Press learnt that Mbedu (27) shot her last Generations scenes in July.
We approached the actress, whose drop-dead beauty is often likened to that of Kelly Rowland – for comment.
“I left Generations in July,” is all she would tell us. She would not divulge the reason for her departure.
However, she was delighted to speak about her Emmy nomination, saying that she did not want to create false hopes about bringing the award home from the black-tie ceremony, to be held at the Hilton in New York on November 9. “I know people who have been nominated six times, yet they have never won. I am just enjoying the exciting and humbling experience. This time I am chilled. It’s not like the first nomination, where I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know what to expect,” she told us.
‘Her way or Mfundi’s way’
Insiders told City Press that when Generations brought Mbedu on board earlier this year the producers were hoping she would drive up numbers on the show, but this did not happen.
SABC1’s popular drama series Uzalo remains the most-watched show on South African TV, with an average viewership of 9.3million, according to August TV ratings from the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa. Generations: The Legacy came in second with 9.1 million viewers.
“Unfortunately her character was short-lived because she didn’t bring in numbers. The producers thought she would save the show,” said one source.
Another added: “She came with her head in the clouds, but she was treated like any other actor. They just didn’t accommodate her at all.”
The sources told us that the star was expecting a much better contract than the one she was offered.
Said a third source: “It was either her way or Mfundi Vundla’s way – so she had no choice but to call it quits. It is sad that our talented Mzansi actors always have to fight with producers to be compensated as they deserve.”
Generations spokesperson Gaaratwe Mokhethi confirmed that Mbedu had left the show. “It was a pleasure having her on the set,” she said. “She brought the character to life and ensured that Okuhle really crept into the hearts of our viewers in a very short space of time. Our producers continue to be in discussion with Thuso and her agent regarding her possible future availability for the show.”
Mbedu’s scored the role of Okuhle after she expressed her frustration about struggling to get acting jobs after Is’thunzi wrapped its second season. She told SABC3’s Trending SA that the reality of the industry was that actors could find themselves “chilling at home” even with an Emmy nomination.
“That’s so funny, because there was hype for two seconds, where people were like ‘We want you’, but in reality it was ‘No, not really. We want you because we want to be relevant and we want Twitter to see that we support you.’ ”
We wish her all the best on her Emmy adventure. Bring it home, MoGhel, and go land those international roles.
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