We bet Shashi Naidoo was not ready for the storm she was about to start when she took to Instagram this weekend to call Gaza a sh*thole "country".
Because of her comments, Shashi has reportedly already lost followers on Instagram. Her posts did not only cause outrage on social media, some of the brands associated with Shashi soon distanced themselves from her comments and her.
Adila Dhorat of Lil Jewels released a statement saying she'd withdrawn Shashi as a brand ambassador for her line. Adila said she would not accept any form of inhumanity.
But entertainment commentator Phil Mphela does not believe it will be the end of her.
"Shashi's celebrity is not [that] of an A-lister. I think the biggest hit will be on her businesses. Plus it's not like she was on a current hit show or anything like that. Yeah, she lost a few followers and has been dropped by a brand but she will bounce back," Phil said.
He said although he believes the posts may have been a mistake, her comments were a thought-out "essay" on the issue.
"We are all in this business just one tweet away from being vilified or burnt at a stake. For that, I can sympathise with Shashi. We are all fallible but there are consequences and she is experiencing it," he told HuffPost.
Asked whether she can redeem herself, Phil said South Africans are very forgiving.
"She will be okay. This, like many other controversies, will blow over. I don't think she will hold the same esteem with the Muslim community any more, but she will bounce back, he said.
What happened:
On Youth Day, Shashi — who was in Ibiza — posted a photo of herself and renowned DJ Black Coffee in Ibiza. One of her followers criticised Black Coffee for his performance in Tel Aviv earlier this year. In April, Black Coffee found himself at the centre of a storm after performing in Israel. At the time, he said he was just an entertainer trying to feed his family and not a political party.
Defending Black Coffee, Shashi penned a lengthy rant on the comments section on Instagram.
She soon deleted the comments and apologised.
The apology was also later deleted.
Her posts did not only cause outrage on social media, some of the brands associated to Shashi soon distanced themselves from her comments and her.
Glampalm Africa said Shashi's statements did not reflect its position and also distanced itself from her opinions regarding Gaza.
People did not buy it.