South African singer, actress, and radio personality Unathi Nkayi has revealed the shocking details behind her fallout with former friend and colleague Somizi Mhlongo, alleging that the reality TV star not only had her fired from IdolsSA but also chose her ex-husband's side during their divorce.
Nkayi, who has been outspoken about her stance against sexual abuse, claims that Mhlongo's return to IdolsSA, after stepping down amidst allegations of abuse against him, came with a condition: her removal from the show. "I knew it was coming because Somizi was coming back, I knew he wouldn't want to work with me after the stance I took," she said during a recent episode of Podcast and Chill with MacG.
Nkayi's stance, she explained, was that she would not defend sexual offenders, referencing Mhlongo's conviction in 2008. This conviction, coupled with the allegations of sexual abuse against him in 2021, led to a significant shift in their relationship.
"Somizi and I are no longer friends because he chose Thomas’ side, and I don’t have any problem with him," she said, referring to her ex-husband, Thomas Msengana, whom she was married to for 13 years.
The tension between Nkayi and Mhlongo, who were once close friends and colleagues, began during and after her divorce from Msengana. According to Nkayi, Mhlongo, who was a mutual friend of both her and Thomas, sided with her ex-husband during and after the divorce.
"He stopped texting and calling me, started going on boys' holidays with Thomas, and even said weird things about me on his reality show," she explained.
Nkayi's family noticed the change in their relationship and advised her to accept the situation and move on. However, the tension escalated in 2021 when allegations of sexual abuse against Mhlongo by his then-partner, Mohale Motaung, surfaced online.
Around the same time, R. Kelly was convicted on multiple charges related to child sexual abuse. Nkayi took to Instagram to express her relief at the conviction, which led some people to question why she did not support Mhlongo.
"People asked me why I didn’t support Somizi. He is not my friend, and I don’t support sex offenders," she said, reiterating Mhlongo's 2008 conviction.
Nkayi claims that she learned from the media that neither her contract nor Randall Abrahams' contract was renewed, and she believes Somizi's return to the show played a role.
"I saw that Somizi was coming back for the final season, and I knew he would never want to work with me after the stance I took," she said.
Nkayi alleges that Mhlongo had significant influence on the show, to the extent that he made demands for her removal as a condition for his return.
"The show took a gamble on losing viewers by not renewing my contract to meet Somizi’s demands," she remarked, ironically adding that the show did indeed lose viewers in the final season.
