Unathi Nkayi, a South African singer, actress, and radio personality, recently opened up about the end of her friendship with Somizi Mhlongo, saying the reality TV star chase her ex-husband over her.
Nkayi has also blamed Somizi for having her Idols not being renewed. According to Nkayi, her dismissal from the show was influenced by Mhlongo, a former colleague and friend who had taken a break from the show due to abuse allegations against him.
The musician said she took a hardline stance against abuse, she said in a recent episode of Podcast and Chill with MacG.
Mhlongo, who was also a judge on the show, had stepped down amidst the controversy surrounding the allegations. During his absence, the show had weekly guest judges who would fill in on his behalf until his return.
However, as Mhlongo’s legal issues began to die down, discussions about his return to Idols started.
According to Nkayi, the show approached him about coming back and he was given the opportunity to set terms for his return. One of those terms, she alleges, was that she be removed 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.
She further specified that the stance she took was that she does not defend sexual offenders as Mhlongo was convicted back in 2008.
Somizi and Unathi were close friends and colleagues for years, but their relationship soured after Unathi's divorce from Thomas Msengana, to whom she was married for 13 years.
According to Unathi, Somizi, who was a mutual friend of both her and Thomas, chose to side with Thomas during and after the divorce.
"Somizi and I are no longer friends because he chose Thomas’ side, and I don’t have any problem with him," she said during a recent episode on Podcast and Chill with MacG.
Unathi said she noticed signs of Somizi distancing himself.
"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.
Her family also noticed the change and advised her to accept the situation and move on.
The tension between them escalated in 2021 when Somizi was accused of sexually abusing his then-partner, Mohale Motaung, which caused a significant stir online. Around the same time, R. Kelly was convicted on multiple charges related to child sexual abuse.
Unathi posted on Instagram expressing relief that R. Kelly was finally convicted, which led some people to question why she did not support Somizi.
"People asked me why I didn’t support Somizi. He is not my friend, and I don’t support sex offenders," she said, saying Mhlongo was convicted in 2008.
Unathi said she learnt 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.
Unathi claims that Somizi 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.
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