Veteran Actor Vusi Thanda Receives R30k Donation From Local Brand. A few months ago, the veteran actor known for his iconic roles on shows like The Queen and Emzini Wezinsizwa made social media trends after he released a video asking for financial help as he had fallen on hard times.
The video sparked outrage from his industry peers including actress Pearl Thusi who felt it should have not been the case considering some of the shows he featured in are still on air. It also sparked a conversation on how South African artists are badly treated by their industry when it comes to royalties. Whilst it’s not clear how much the actor received after sharing his banking details. Good Samaritans are still at works months later.
Local sportswear brand, Kicks Sportswear recently became the latest one to help out the actor. The company handed a hefty donation of R30 000 to Thanda. “After much consideration and talks with Vusi Thanda, we decided it would be best for us to opt-out of hosting an event and have agreed to rather hand over a cheque of R30 000 as our contribution to this legend,” the company’s CEO, Sammy Mhawule said in a statement.
The company said it was inspired by the actor’s courage and condemned the systems in SA production houses. “We don’t even have a union where somebody can speak on our behalf so that we can speak our rights. Can you manage how many jobs Vusi Thanda has done in his life? If he was to get royalties out of all those jobs at least he would be able to get by,” Mhawule said.
