South African singer and actress Nandi Madida took to Twitter on Wednesday, 2 September 2020 to share a sweet moment she experienced when dropping off her son at school. In a since-deleted tweet, Nandi shared her amusement at the fact that her son, Shaka, had returned to school after the long lockdown-enforced break, and was greeted by his friends who different to her as The Lion King’s Nala.
She stated, “I realized today that to some of Shaka’s toddler school friends I am now “Nala”. I heard a “Wow! Shaka’s mom is Nala! Black Is King!”. The Power of Disney!”. Following her tweet, Tweeps began dragging her for what they felt was the most conceited tweet of all time, seeing as the role of Nala was given to Beyoncé in The Lion King remake.
Despite having appeared in Beyonce’s film, Black Is King, as one of the most notable South African cameos, followers didn’t feel as though it warranted her being called Nala. After the tweet received a significant amount of backlash, Nandi deleted it and hoped that the drama surrounding it would stop.
Thereafter, Nandi shared a follow-up tweet, highlighting the toxic hate that comes along with being a Twitter user, especially if you are a public figure. She stated, “Even I’m laughing at the comments. Twitter is the most entertaining platform. It’s an extreme sport and not for the faint hearted. No one is safe. U have 2 know how to laugh at yourself!”.
Her nonchalant response granted her redemption amongst followers, as they praised her for seeing the comedy in it, rather than clapping back at her fans.
