It was both heartbreaking and enlightening – the moment when Mgedeza woke up to find a hysterical Momo plastered with make-up many shades lighter than her own in an attempt to appear more attractive to her husband who had cheated on her with a “yellow-bone”.
Colourism is a controversial topic both in South Africa and the world over where people of colour come in different shades. It is discrimination of people with darker skin tones perpetuated by various industries including beauty, marketing and film but derives its origins from the slavery period. In South Africa it also finds root in the Apartheid era. The discrimination plays out within the people of colour community centuries and decades later.
Mgedeza cheated on Momo with DiepCity’s latest cold-blooded gangster – Zola – a light-skinned woman with an enviable wardrobe.
Seeing Momo questioning her own beauty because she is darker and Mgedeza had cheated on her with a light-skinned Zola, was an important moment on television bringing to our screens a conversation that is usually the elephant in the room in our social circles and a causes for debate and fights on Twitter. Mgedeza was quick to let his wife know that he liked her complexion as it was and that she did not need to try any dangerous and unprofessional skin lightening treatments from the lady at the mall as Momo had suggested. The conversation is a moment in time that reminds us that people of colour come in many shades and each one is as beautiful as the next.
Mzansi Magic viewers sympathized with Momo and others were shocked by her actions.
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