Lebani ‘Rasta’ Sirenje is on top of the trends list yet again. Social media seems to think his Black Panther painting is a gross misrepresentation of King T’Challa.
Social media trolls Rasta: ‘That’s Lionel Richie’
In fact, people are of the belief that Rasta actually painted US legendary singer Lionel Richie.
The whole debacle is a mess. Take a look at the painting below. We also included a photo of Lionel Ritchie for comparison so you can make up your mind:
Here are some of the reactions we picked out from social media:
In Rasta’s defence, the gesture came from a warm place. In his eyes, this was his tribute to a fallen king.
Black Panther, at least for the interim, is no more. The tragic news of Chadwick Boseman’s passing is still a fresh wound for many.
The 43-year-old actor died after a four-year battle with colon cancer, an excruciatingly painful disease that sits on the digestive tract.
Amazingly, Boseman gave us countless stellar performances in movies like Da 5 Bloods, 21 Bridges and more notably Marvel’s Black Panther and Avengers franchise.
Fana Mokoena labelled insensitive for ill-timed tweet
In other news, former Generations actor and member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Fana Mokoena received a virtual lashing for suggesting a replacement for Black Panther only days after Boseman’s death.
Mokoena lodged Atandwa Kani as the right candidate to fill Boseman’s shoes in the Black Panther’s suit.
The thing is, Atandwa, son of veteran actor John Kani, has already featured in the Black Panther.
He played the younger version of King T’Chaka and while some felt Mokoena’s comments were insensitive, others reminded the former actor of the glaring conflict of interest this would be for Marvel fans.
“They’ve already used that oke as young T’Chaka. The audience would feel disrespected coz who tf (sp) does that?” one user asked.
Details surrounding Boseman’s funeral have yet to be confirmed.
