South Africa: Kelly Khumalo Apologises for Homophobic Outburst

22 November 2023
Scrolla (Johannesburg)

After a rollercoaster weekend at the South African Music Awards (Samas) that saw Kelly Khumalo lose out on the Female of the Year award, she unleashed a tweet storm that had more twists than her hit songs.

Despite facing stiff competition from Ntokozo Mbambo, Sincerely Anne, Hle and Thandi Ntuli, Kelly was certain the award had her name written all over it.

And when Ntokozo scooped not just one, but three awards including Female of the Year, Kelly couldn't keep her fingers from firing up X (formerly Twitter).

"Nontokozo naye uyazi [she knows] that numbers don't lie. Asimesabi [we are not afraid of her] Fuseg Samas," she tweeted, sparking an online wildfire.

Things took a bad turn when Kelly's comebacks to her fans crossed the line into homophobic territory.

Responding to a member of the LGBTQI+ community, Kelly's tweet read: "Sit down, Auntie. The day you decide whether you are a man or a woman, then we can talk."

Cue the outrage!

Realising that her words had hit a sour note, Kelly did what any celeb caught in a tweetstorm does -- she apologised.

Taking to X once again, she expressed guilt for her comments, hoping to smooth things over with fans and the LGBTQI+ community.

This isn't the first time Kelly's been in trouble over her reaction to awards. Back in 2020, she had a similar meltdown on the platform after missing out on a Crown Gospel award.

Compiled by staff writer

Read the original article on Scrolla.

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