Celeb Twitter Round-Up: Netizens Lose it Over Sdumo Mtashli’s Double
There’s an adage that goes “Don’t believe everything you see on the internet”, which, let’s face it, is difficult in this day and age of constant innovative technology and questionable media literacy.
Take, for example, this image of a family in front of their new home. Seems innocent, right? Wrong! There’s more here than meets the eye and it nearly had netizens for a moment. However, let’s set the scene.
On 20 June, Mbali Molemane thought she would share some joy by posting an image to Instagram of herself with who one would assume is her husband and their child. In the caption, the real estate agent wrote: “[The Gomoras] just got another property!”
It all seemed so pleasant and harmless until online users noticed who her partner was: None other than S’dumo Mtshali himself! To catch you up, the 43-year-old actor plays Jonasi Gomora, the polygamist main character in the Netflix telenovela series, “The Polygamist”, which centres around the scheme his wife cooks up as revenge for his infidelity.
Needless to say, the series has more twists and turns than a koeksister, and fans exposed themselves in the comments upon spotting the infamous philanderer and likening Mbali to his on-screen wife, Joyce.
However, one or two sharp IG commentators saw something wasn’t quite right and pointed out that the image was AI-enhanced, exposing the joke.
The evidence? The clothes the “husband” was wearing were suspiciously similar to something the real Mtshali had shared in November last year. Apparently, the 2010 “Class Act” winner had done a cover shoot for Bona magazine in the same denim jacket and jeans.
That didn’t stop the fans from having fun with it – it’s difficult to tell who was in on the joke and who was sincerely befuddled. The comments were a combination of fans telling Mbali to get out of there and put some distance between her and that man, to folks wondering which wife Jonasi was on now (they were lost on the exact number, as you can see).
You can tell the online crowd was enjoying it all, as some did a double-take and immediately went to the comments to see if they weren’t delulu.
It’s not often that online Mzansi has some honest fun – when they’re not bickering over politics, crime and Home Affairs – and it was almost wholesome to see. You’ve got to cherish these little moments!
Mtshali has yet to respond to the IG tag, but his portrayal in the Netflix series has gained it major praise as it became one of Africa’s best and most recent hits, reaching the top spot in 16 countries.
Image Credit: Source
