Social media reacts to Sizwe Dhlomo curving a fan

 

Sizwe Dhlomo is often held in high regard on Twitter as the meister of all things pertaining to super facts. He is also considered by many of his fans as a hot throb.

One of his fans felt the reality of engaging too personally with celebrities when Dhlomo, unfortunately, had to bring her back to reality in public. Let’s track back a little, shall we?

Who is Sizwe Dhlomo?

Dhlomo is a 35-year-old celebrity (if he read this and found out that we referred to him as a celebrity, we know for a fact that it would irritate him) who first came to fame after he appeared on the first season of the MTV Base World Chart Express as the first-ever VJ of the music channel back in 2005.

His on-screen natural talents and his charisma pushed him up the ladder, seeing him host TV shows like SABC’s Live with Bonang Matheba in 2010, and a string of gigs thereafter, such as the 2010 South African Music Awards (SAMA).

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The celeb-funding for retweets trend

This should be sufficient to consider Dhlomo a local celebrity. Twitter, at least in South Africa, has blurred the lines between the haves and the have-nots. Ordinary Twitter users have been able to engage with their idols on a daily basis, creating this veil of comradery between the two classes.

This is how this trend of asking for things from celebrities was born. Ordinary Twitter users would ask celebrities for things like a new pair of sneakers or even college tuition. Sometimes they would get that elusive response.

It then grew into a more incentivised movement where users challenged celebrities to provide for them the items they wish to receive for x amount of retweets or engagements on the tweet.

Brands and celebrities alike jumped onto this because it was cheap, and it brought the brand value right up the scale for ‘giving back’.

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Sizwe Dhlomo accepts retweet challenge but bails out on fan last minute

This, we thought, was the case when Twitter user, @TinahN_ challenged Dhlomo for a chance to go out on a date with him.

Well. Dhlomo accepted the challenge and put the stake at 1 000 retweets. For @TinahN_ this was going to be easy, and sure enough, a day later, she had achieved the goal, meaning that Dhlomo had to step up because word is bon jovi.

And so he did. Dhlomo got in contact with @TinahN_ and allegedly made arrangements to meet up with the fan for her dream date.

However, Dhlomo, on the last minute, had a sudden change of heart and cancelled on the entire occasion, moments before it was set to take place.

“Please don’t mind the RT’s wena @TinahN_ and I’m sorry if I embarrassed you but I just can’t go on a date with strangers. That’s not me. My sincere apologies,” he tweeted.

See the string of tweets below.

https://twitter.com/Aysap_/status/1058269952971587584

Social media erupts after Dhlomo curved fan

Well, Twitter soon erupted after the news from Dhlomo went viral. People were shocked at how cold Dhlomo was for cancelling on moghel.

She canceled her Sun City trip just for Sizwe to cancel on her 😭😭

Nka kula. I could be within Valley of the waves now I am home being a joke 😢. Tjo ☹️

— Rakgadi Ntebo (@Ntebo_Mo) November 2, 2018

Even his former co-host, Matheba, could not help but empathise with the girl who got publicly shamed by Dhlomo on Twitter.

The girl has since protected her account, understandably so, since Dhlomo, whether he intended to or not, has directed all that slander her way.

We just hope that she has a strong support system and that she won’t be drawn to harming herself under the pressure she is facing on social media right now