Artist and activist Ntsiki Mazwai. Picture: Refilwe Modise
The open letter and subsequent tiff on Twitter started after Mbalula sent a tweet to American singer Beyoncé.
“Mr Minister….sir….as a local artist, your obsession with Beyonce is killing me, [sic]” Mazwai said in the open letter.
She went on to criticise the minister’s apparent preference for international artists, calling him a “groupy”.
“It sickens me that you are willing to pay 100s of thousands to American artists who already have an established industry and are basically leeching off other countries owing to greed…while you can’t pay our artist even 50 000, [sic]” the singer said.
Mazwai also added that Mbalula’s “attitude” towards local artists concerned her.
“It concerns me that you are teaching the people you lead, to idolise Americans, when our country has such rich talent, [sic]” she wrote.
Mbalula yesterday struck back at the scathing letter in a series of tweets accusing Mazwai of lying and being frivolous.
While some twitter users rallied behind Mazwai, others were more critical of the letter.
The controversial and outspoken Ntsiki Mazwai has in the past expressed her opinions through open letters.
In March, she wrote a letter to the ANC, criticising the party and in September penned an open letter to white South Africans.
