Penny Lebyane dragged for Thuso Mbedu compliment

South African broadcaster and media practitioner Penny Lebyane has come under fire for the way she chose to frame her compliment to The Woman King actress, Thuso Mbedu.

“When u don’t abuse yourself wt bev in SA industry parties trying to elbow,chasing to be an it girl at all costs bt focus on ur work, craft, build a career, drink water, laugh wt your real friends, stay grounded, learn accents etc u look 21yrs at 31,” tweeted Penny.

She basically implied that Thuso Mbedu looks young because she doesn’t abuse alcohol at media events, she does not seem to be chasing after illusive “it-girl” status and added that the young actress focuses on her craft. 

Lebyane also seemed to compliment Mbedu on keeping her “real friends” close instead of cosying up to other famous faces. 

Backlash

There is an understanding among Twitter users that dictates that if your tweet has a significant number of Quote Tweets and you didn’t even ask a question, then you know you messed up. 

At the time of writing, Penny Lebyane’s tweet had over 400 quote tweets, mostly from people who questioned the tone she chose to take on a tweet that was meant to celebrate a beloved figure. 

“….delete this,” said @_LesegoMabote, simply. 

“This is like a chicken walking itself into a slaughterhouse,” added @Mbuyisa_Mbongo.

“You were at every Duku Duku episode, regrets I guess..” retorted ​​@O_Ol_we2.

“Penny some us know you, the social butterfly. Don’t come here acting fresh. We KNOW what you were doing when you were Thuso’s age,” clapped back @Molobane2022. 

Back in March, around the time of the Spirit Awards, Thuso Mbedu cautioned people against using her as a vehicle to shaft others. 

“To those who feel inclined to drag others to ‘celebrate’ me, don’t. It’s not necessary. If you’re unable to lift me up without tearing someone else down then I’d rather you don’t speak of me at all. We don’t do that here. We are in great need of pure, genuine love right now,” tweeted the actress.

In that same month, Lebyane came under fire for backing Nathi Mthethwa’s highly reviled R22 million flag pole idea. 

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