DJ Zinhle and Pearl Thusi were booked at their bestie’s birthday party, and a short video clip taken of their encounter has ruptured the internet.
UPDATE: This article has been updated with an official statement from DJ Zinhle clearing the air around the viral video.
Fans believe this clip proves DJ Zinhle and Pearl Thusi are not friends
Nomuzi ‘Moozlie‘ Mabena celebrated her birthday in style at a famous Johannesburg nightclub on Wednesday with SA’s A-list celebrities.
DJ Zinhle, a known close friend of the rapper, was in charge of the decks, while Thusi was booked as the event host.
The night produced a couple of industry ‘moments’. Firstly, for the first time ever, we saw rapper AKA posed with his ex’s husband Bongani ‘Murdah Bongz’ Mohosana.
The moment that stole the conversation, however, came when Zinhle was filmed in a bizarre encounter with Thusi. To the untrained eye, with minimal context to support the clip, DJ Zinhle was seen nudging Thusi away from the turntables.
Of course, for social media sherlocks, this was enough empirical evidence to support the rumour mill’s assertions that DJ Zinhle and Pearl Thusi are not as friendly as they like to pretend.
Except, in August 2022, during an interview with Sowetan Live, Zinhle made it abundantly clear that she and Thusi “donāt have to explain ourselves to people as long as weāre accountable to each other and our friendship.”
“Pearl and I are fineā¦ we have an everlasting sisterhood. Much like every relationship has its ups and downs, we go through that as well. We are at a point in our lives where we donāt have to explain ourselves to people as long as weāre accountable to each other and our friendship,” she said at the time.
It’s unclear what the origins of Zinhle and Thusi’s friendship split rumours are. However, a surface-level search suggests that, for the most part, the speculation has been driven by social media.
In a statement released shortly after this article was published, DJ Zinhle categorically asserted that she and Thusi, contrary to popular belief, had a great time at Moozlie’s party.
“Pearl & I had a great time & on the video you saw, I was gesturing to Brandon, whom I was playing a set with, to come & select the song cause we were using his USBs. Also. Why would Pearl smile when she walked away if I was being mean to her? Please stop vilifying meā¦ STOP,” she tweeted.
Here’s how social media reacted: