South African entertainer Bonang Matheba took her war against leading celebrity agency CSA Global to her Twitter timeline, where her 5.2 million followers were treated to scathing accusations levelled against executive Davin Phillips.
Bonang Matheba accuses Davin Phillips of hijacking her business
In a series of tweets which, we believe, could be deleted very soon, Matheba launched a scathing assault on the agency’s director, accusing him of putting her and her family “through hell the past two years.”
“One thing I will do, is stand up for myself! PUBLICLY! I’ve had ENOUGH! You’ve put me and my family through HELL the last 2 years!! And clearly being decent behind closed doors, isn’t the language you understand ANYMORE! I’m going to FIGHT!! Watch me!” she exclaimed.
Matheba went on to publicly smear Phillips for attempting to steal her House of BNG business, vehemently claiming the intellectual property was facilitated and finalised by Jay Badza, founder of Orchard on 25, a marketing agency, and Sylvester Chauke, founder of DNA Brand Architects.
“You steal from black creatives!! I’m not the first one! A quick Google search is all one needs…It ends TODAY!” she wrote.
In a tweet that has since been deleted, Matheba also laid the blame squarely on Phillips for her podcast deal with iHeart Media that fell through. According to the entertainer, the show, which was going to be produced by Charlamagne Tha God, never happened because Phillips allegedly stole $52 000 (est. R821 960).
Matheba and CSA Global did not return our requests for comment at the time this article was published.
Who owns House of BNG?
Last year, we reported that Matheba and the celebrity agency have been locked in a bitter feud over the ownership of the popular MCC brand, House of BNG.
Matheba sent the internet into a frenzy when she released a statement confirming she had parted ways with CSA Global after four years (she joined in 2017) due to elements of criminality with the handling of her business affairs.
The celebrity agency, in response, accused Matheba of being “in breach of multiple contracts with various clients.”
“She has been derelict to these brands and indeed her own for the past six months,” CSA noted in at the time.
According to a detailed report published by content creator Lindo Nkosi, the bitter war between Matheba and her former agency is about the ownership of House of BNG.
According to the media magnate, she is the sole proprietor of the MCC brand. However, the devil, it seems, is in the details of her full-stack partnership with CSA Global.
The celebrity agency, it turns out, managed Bonang Matheba across the board, from the development of her personal brand to her business interests.
House of BNG was established in 2018, a year after she had signed on to CSA Global. While Matheba was the face of the brand, taking it to great heights, it’s believed she was not responsible for its production and distribution. That responsibility, it was found, laid on the shoulders of her partner, Vino Ventures which, coincidentally, is headed by none other than Phillips.
Therefore, the head of CSA Global may be, in effect, recognised as the person responsible for the brand’s business interests.
All of this has yet to play out in court. Therefore, at this time, it remains unclear who exactly owns House of BNG.
