Following widespread criticism for the grammatical errors and the subsequent recall of her book "Bonang: From A to B" by Exclusive Books, people still believe Bonang Matheba owes her fans an apology.
Using the rise and fall of Nonhle Thema as an example, Twitter users called on Matheba not to be arrogant. The #NonhleThema started trending on Tuesday afternoon with people sharing how Matheba was making the same mistakes Thema made when she fell from grace over six years ago.
At the peak of her career, Thema, who was the ultimate it girl and everything going on her side, suffered a public meltdown which led to her downfall.
She would often rant on social media and was always quick to remind people how rich and powerful she was. In one of her posts at the time, she said: "At 29 I'm worth 10 million bucks. Lol. To all my haters. Eat dust y'all".
Following its release in July, Matheba's book came under heavy criticism from readers who picked up errors.
Poor technical writing skills. Too confused, logical & lethargic. I feel sorry for tautology & the misuse of punctuation marks. #BeingBonangpic.twitter.com/F8LQEEBX35
— IG: Rose_Morapama (@RoseMorapama) August 3, 2017
On August 8, Exclusive Books apologised for the errors in the book and offered refunds to unhappy customers who had bought copies.
In true Bonang fashion, Matheba remained mum and did not respond to any of the criticism.
Instead, during an episode of her reality show, "Being Bonang", Matheba said she had decided to recall the book to keep the critics quiet.
She said after the re-release, she would resume with her book tour.
Speaking to HuffPost SA, entertainment commentator and media consultant, Phil Mphela said by not apologising, Matheba missed an opportunity to connect with her fans on a new level. He said he believes she should have apologised when the first complaint surfaced on social media.
"Instead she removed herself from what was happening. She could have had a human to human moment with her fans had she come out and said sorry and that she will do better. We are never too big to apologise," Mphela said.
Her publisher, Thabiso Mahlape of Black Bird Books, has since apologised and took full responsibility for the errors in the book.
She previously told TimesLive that: "The last thing I want is for black people to be accused of mediocrity and I should do better. It's on me as the publisher. I ought to have done better."
Mphela said he also believes that Matheba should look at Thema's life as a lesson.
"I don't think when people bring up Nonhle's story is to ridicule her, but rather to remind others not to walk down the same path. Nonhle has matured and has learnt from her experience. I think others should learn from what she went through and move on," Mphela told HuffPost SA.