Scrolling down your timeline this morning, you may have come across a captionless image of Mangaliso Ngema posted by your favourite on-screen celebrity.
Why is everyone posting the same picture of Mangaliso Ngema?
At first glance, this all seems a bit random and baseless but if you have clued up on this week’s happenings, you will understand what this all means.
Mangaliso Ngema is one of the seasoned actors on SABC 2’s soap opera, Lithapo. Since the show kicked off early this year, Ngema has worked with the likes of Joyce Skefu, Seputla Sebogodi and Israel Zulu in growing the soapie’s narrative.
Does this have anything to do with Lorraine Moropa?
He has also worked alongside Lorraine Moropa, a 23-year-old budding actress who plays the role of Paballo. Moropa braved the storm and recently spoke out about an abuser she has had to constantly face on the show’s film set.
She only described the alleged sexual harasser as a ‘senior’ actor.
“Imagine working with someone who undresses you from how he looks at you. Someone that grabs their genitals on a set while looking at your ass or grabs your ass and laughs it off in front of a crew (yes my cases have always been in the presence of my colleagues). That to me is worse than a slap in the face,” she wrote in an Instagram post that has since gone viral.
More women speak out against Lithapo ‘senior’ actor
In the midst of the outpouring support Moropa received, another woman stepped forward to open up about her own experiences with the same ‘senior’ actor.
Actress Altovise Lawrence stood in solidarity with Moropa, claiming to have shared the same experience with the actor, on the very same set.
“He told me that I’m sexy. He has asked me how far down my tattoos go. He has undressed me with his eyes. He offered to furnish my apartment in exchange for sex. He has bitten his lip when I’ve exited the change-room [sic]. He has spoken about how great my ass looks in wardrobe {a pencil skirt in this instance); loud enough for cast and crew to hear,” Lawrence wrote.
Is Mangaliso Ngema linked to sexual harassment claims?
The show’s production company has noted these claims and is currently investigating them. No statement from the company has been received thus far.
Standing in solidarity with the women who’ve come forward, female celebrities have been posting the same image of one of the senior actors on Lithapo.
Many conclusions may be drawn from this, of course, the clearest being that Ngema may be linked, in some capacity, to the sexual harassment claims.
