Mzansi's reality singing competition Idols SA has made an official announcement that larger-than-life TV and media personality Somizi Mhlongo has returned back to the show after being suspended in 2021.
Read More: Halala! Thembi Seete And JR Join Somizi As Idols Season 18 Judges
Read More: Halala! Thembi Seete And JR Join Somizi As Idols Season 18 Judges
Somizi was shown the door after allegations of physical abuse were levelled against him by his estranged husband Mohale Motaung. Speaking at the press briefing today, he could not contain his excitement about being back and could not comment on the allegations. He maintained that you are "innocent until proven guilty"
"Honestly as you may have all noticed, I haven't spoken about anything. My private life is my private life and my work life is my work life. I feel like I can't say anything at the moment and I don't was to say anything. All I can say is that it was one of the toughest times in my career but we move on, like they say you are innocent until proven guilty," he said.
HAPPENING NOW:
— Kgopolo (@PhilMphela) February 16, 2022
Somizi responds to a question about his return to #IdolsSA following the allegations that led to his suspension last season. #IdolsSA #KgopoloReports pic.twitter.com/kjNXUINrLj
Mohale claimed that Somizi allegedly pulled out a knife on him and almost stabbed them both during an altercation. "I took my keys and walked out, he took a knife. I was about to exit, so he said to me, ‘if you exit… I’m going to kill us both.’ So I took my keys and ran. He grabbed the knife and said ‘if you walk out, I’m going to stab you.’ Now I see a different person. I was sh*t scared and walked back into the house. He said ‘let’s talk.’ He cried and we moved on,” he claimed.
The allegations landed Somizi in hot water with his employers espcially at Idols SA as he got suspended from the show. In a statement Mnet said ""We have reached a mutual agreement that Mr. Mhlongo will take some time off to deal with his personal circumstances until this matter has been resolved"
He later took to his Instagram account to share his side of the story and cleared his name from the allegations levelled against him by Mohale:
He said, "Our relationship has its ups and downs but I have NEVER been physically or knowingly emotionally abusive towards my estranged husband. I vehemently deny the allegations of criminal acts towards him and would like to clear my name of that defamation.
What I am going to state however is that we had one altercation in which I had to defend myself and both of us were physically hurt by the other. I am at this stage not at liberty to dive deeper into the details but can state that he is not a victim in this situation"
Image Cred: ANMG