Actress Angel Zuma has opened up about the abuse and struggles she faced while working on Umkhokha: The Curse. The talented actress, known for her role as Nomkhosi Mthembu, revealed that her challenges began when she decided to leave the show.
In a deeply emotional episode on her YouTube podcast, Zuma detailed the shocking treatment she endured after submitting her resignation. She recalled being met with hostility and intimidation, with industry figures telling her: “We own you. We will end your career.”
This marked the beginning of a painful journey of emotional distress and mistreatment, which ultimately led her into a deep depression.
Zuma also opened up about a serious injury she suffered while filming Umkhokha: The Curse. She explained that she tore a muscle in her ankle after a fall on set, which forced her to walk with a crutch—a detail that was never originally part of the script.
“I remember getting injured on set. I don’t know if you remember Nomkhosi walking with a crutch—that was not part of the script. I literally fell on set, and I got injured. I tore a muscle. My muscle separated in two on my ankle.”
Doctors placed her on a two-week bed rest, but she was called back to work before her recovery period was over. Feeling pressured, she returned to set despite her injury, only to realize that her well-being was not a priority.
“That was illegal for them to call me back to work when the doctor put me on bed rest. I couldn’t walk, but I went. I’m pretty sure if you get injured on the job, there’s insurance involved. I never got a cent, by the way. I got injured on set, and it was not a safe set to work on.”
While earlier reports suggested that Zuma left Umkhokha: The Curse to join The Lion King in Toronto, she now reveals that her departure was far from smooth. She described her exit as one of the most painful experiences of her career.
“I never thought in my life these people would do such things to me just because I resigned. It was horrible. I had the worst experience leaving.”
She expressed disappointment at how the entertainment industry handles resignations, urging for a culture of respect and dignity when an actor chooses to move on.
“Can we normalize that when a person resigns, you let them go in peace? You don’t need to fight them. You don’t need to pull strings and connections to try and stop them from thriving just because they’re leaving. I’ve never cried so much in my life. I’ve never been so hurt, disappointed, and betrayed.”
Zuma admitted that the treatment she received pushed her into depression, as she felt powerless against powerful industry figures.
“To the people we look up to—the people who have been in the industry opening doors for others—you’re taking a young girl’s entire future. That place was going to kill me. That place was really going to kill me.”
She later took to social media to express how deeply the experience affected her, admitting that she struggled to edit her YouTube video without breaking down.
“This broke me down. I have not cried about this because of my rage toward the people who betrayed me. I’ve been bottling it up, and it caught up with me while filming this episode. I had to edit it out because I couldn’t even finish the video without breaking down over and over again.”
