Rising singer Naledi Aphiwe is reportedly facing a major career setback after an alleged multi-million rand brand deal collapsed following a social media controversy.
According to reports circulating online, the young star was expected to partner with popular lollipop brand Stumbo in a deal believed to be worth close to R5 million.
However, the partnership has allegedly fallen through after backlash over comments she made about Bassie Liu, the girlfriend of fellow musician Mawelele.
The claims surfaced following an episode of “Music Pulse”, which premiered on YouTube on March 10. During the show, co-host Thakgi alleged that the deal had been in the works for several years before it was ultimately scrapped.
“She had a deal that was worth just under R5 million with Stumbo, and she lost it because she made comments about Mawelele’s new girlfriend,” Thakgi claimed.
The deal was reportedly expected to be one of the biggest brand collaborations of Aphiwe’s young career, with reports suggesting discussions between the singer and the confectionery brand had been underway for nearly three years.
The controversy is linked to Aphiwe’s past association with Mawelele, which many fans believed to be a romantic relationship.
However, the singer later revealed that their public romance had actually been a publicity stunt created to promote their first duet, “Romeo & Juliet”.
In an interview with “Sowetan”, Aphiwe said the pair had never dated and that their relationship had been staged for their music.
“We were together for our music, but we never dated,” she explained at the time. “If you look closely at our pictures, you won’t see any kissing ones. It was all staged. It was all publicity for our music.”
According to Aphiwe, both she and Mawelele were already in relationships while the promotional campaign was taking place, which is partly why they later decided to address the situation publicly.
Despite that clarification, tensions resurfaced online after Aphiwe made a Facebook post that many social media users interpreted as mocking Mawelele’s current girlfriend, who has both Chinese and South African ethnicity. The Facebook post has since been deleted.
The post featured a picture of Chinese artwork with the caption “syabonga sesizo order uShein eduze,” which loosely translates to “thank you, we’ll purchase from Shein easier.” Some online users believed the comment was directed at the woman’s appearance and ethnicity.
Screenshots of the post spread across social media platforms, sparking criticism from users who accused the singer of insensitive remarks.
A TikTok user shared the screenshot with Mawelele on one of his videos. The musician responded in the comments, writing, “The obsession is crazy.”
“Independent Media Lifestyle” reached out to Aphiwe for comment but received no response at the time of publication.
