A-list South African celebrities, social media influencers, the public and media partners gathered at The Theatro, Montecasino in Johannesburg last night for the live taping of The Comedy Central and Showmax Roast of actress, socialite, and TV host Khanyi Mbau and ZAlebs was there to bring you all the inside scoop ahead of the broadcast premiere on both Comedy Central Africa and Showmax on August 8, 2022.
We chatted with a few celebrities on the red carpet, spotted some fashion hits and missed, and left with many funny moments and digs from the carefully curated star-studded panellist of roasters including comedians; Celeste Ntuli, John Vlismas and roast master Mpho Pops as well as veteran thespian Sello Maake Ka Ncube, podcaster Sol Phenduka and more.
The hashtag #RoastOfKhanyi started flooding the timeline and the Twitter trends list ahead of the event with attendees sharing their excitement and expectations of the event on Social media yesterday evening. This historic roast is the 4th one in South Africa and Khanyi became the first woman ever to be in the hot seat as a roastee, luckily for us, we managed to catch her right before hitting the stage for some sassy digs, insults and back-handed compliments from some of her friends and industry colleagues all out of love and few giggles.
“I’m excited to hang out on stage with very famous people... that is so dope. But I am honestly scared too, I mean - this a roast, it’s not a picnic,” said the blonde bombshell Khanyi in her 16-inch weave ahead of getting her make-up done for the evening.
She further added that she hopes her fellow panellists do not take anything personally. “I know I’m gonna have fun but I hope the panellists are strong and they don’t take things personally. We’re here to have fun, and I can’t make the show interesting alone and I hope they have the same energy. After all, we’re all here to have a blast.”
Khanyi also boldly mentioned that she did not prepare much for the roast to avoid the preparations throwing her off her game. “I mean when you go to a fight, you can’t prep. You must just take your earrings off, leave your wig at home and go to the streets. So nothing really has been prepared, but I’m ready to throw all the punches.”
We also caught up with veteran stand-up comedian and experienced roaster John Vlismas who gave us a bit of his time and some humour. Vlismas mentioned he was excited about the show and that he looked forward to seeing other panellists kill it although he did not sound confident about some. “We are at the Comedy Central roast of Khanyi Mbau… so this I’ve done a few roasts because I’m old,” he joked. “I think there’s a few people who are going to do well. I think Tbo Touch will do well if he’s not arrested for fraud, I hope he’s quick cause the law moves fast. Khanyi should be quite good because I think she is cunning and ambitious, and she’s deadly.”
As per the invitation sent by Showmmax, the theme for the night was “For The Glam” and although some adhered to it, many came out looking casual, almost like they were out for drinks with their friends on any other Thursday night in Johannesburg but we are not ones to hate.
Of the panellists, only the ladies pulled off looks that adhered to the theme. The country’s favourite comedienne Celeste Ntuli graced the red carpet in a slowing pink skirt, a black blouse with dramatic shoulder details, and toned the look down with a neat pair of white sneakers - a stape if you know Celeste. Investigative journalist Devi Sankaree Govender also gave in some effort in a black even dress.
But the moment of the night became Khanyi Mbau herself who graced the carpet in a sequenced dress with a lot of sizzling details. She stole the night and all the media attention as expected.
Their male counterparts lazed it out on the black carpet. Cape Townian rapper Youngsta CPT show up in a pair of orange sweat pants, a black bomber jacket and a cap, Sol Phenduka came in an all-black casual outfit adorned with a yellow button-up. While John Vlismas and Mpho Popps gave failed efforts in suiting with their off-the-rack suits, still decent enough compared to a lot of other celebs who walked the carpet.
Other black carpet moments that stole our attention were socialites and social media influencers Lasizwe and Mohale Motaung walking the black carpet and doing media interviews hand in hand, right after weeks of speculations about their relationship. They did not confirm anything but looked cosy enough for us to fly with the rumour that the pair is indeed coupled up
Other familiar faces that were present at the event included DJ Zinhle who was out promoting her upcoming season of her Showmax and BET reality show The Unexpected, Busiswa, starlet in the rise and Savage Beauty’s Rosemary Zimu, hip hop’s favourite, DJ Speedsta, comedian Nina Hastie and many others.
The roast will premiere exclusive to Comedy Central Africa, DStv channel 122, and then uncut and uncensored version on digital streaming platform Showmax both on the 8th of August 2022.
