From Jada Pinkett Smith’s entanglement, to Minnie Dlamini’s pregnancy – All the celebrity news that went viral in 2020
Very few of us will disagree that 2020 has been a difficult year. We are looking forward to the start of 2021, so we can all put 2020 behind us….forever! Between former US President Donald Trump nearly sending the world into World War 3, natural disasters, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, COVID-19 corruption in South Africa and a general sense of unrest, this is going to be a year that’s talked about for many generations to come.
Has it really been 12 months? News in the celebrity world was wacky, entertaining, and shocking as ever before.
Let’s take a little break from the politics, drama of business news and look back at 2020 with the most surprising celebrity stories of the year:
TOM HANKS AND HIS WIFE TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
For the first few months of the year, most of the world didn’t seem fazed by COVID-19. This seemed to change after US actor Tom Hanks revealed in March that he and wife Rita Wilson tested positive for the virus while in Australia. He was the first celebrity to announce he had COVID-19.
— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) March 23, 2020
MZANSI’S HEARTBREAK OVER CELEB DEATHS
The deaths of former Jam Alley presenter Vinolia Mashego, popularly known as V-Mash, Kwaito Queen Mshoza and legendary actress Mary Twala had us wailing. Who can forget the sudden passing of legendary radio personality Bob Mabena? Gone too soon but never forgotten.
SA CELEBRITIES EXPECTING
A lot of SA celebrities announced their pregnancy this year and we all jumped in joy for them. From Samkelo Ndlovu, Zola Nombona to Zenande Mfenyana. But the 2 pregnancy announcement that broke SA Twitter was Minnie Dlamini Jones and of course, Uncle Cassper and Thobeka.
MORE CELEBRITY DEATHS
Wakanda forever. The deaths of Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant and Naya Rivera also broke hearts across the globe. These are just a few of the celebrities we lost in the year 2020.
THE END OF AN ERA
Bad news for Keeping up with the Kardashians fans because the Kardashian-Jenner clan announced that the next season of the reality show will be the last, ending an impressive 14-year run.
MISS SA SHUDUFATSO MUSIDA
The Miss South Africa beauty pageant continued to shatter glass ceilings – showing the world that the country’s definition of beauty is indeed diverse. The country celebrated 24 year old Shudufhadzo Musida – who is bald, dark skinned and curvy.
And then it became scandalous! Shock waves were sent throughout the country after a video of TV presenter Katlego Maboe’s wife accusing him of adultery went viral on social media.
Maboe became the hot topic of discussion after the video of his estranged wife, Monique Muller, filmed his cheating confession.
In light of the cheating scandal and abuse allegations, Expresso Morning Show pulled Katlego off air pending the outcome of an investigation. OUTsurance, which Katlego was the face of, also took the decision to pull all adverts featuring him until further notice.
WILL, JADA, AND THE ENTANGLEMENT
Speaking of scandals… Here’s how the word entanglement became part of our vocabulary:
In a late June interview, singer August Alsina said he was previously in a relationship with Jada Pinkett Smith — while she was still married to Will Smith. Alsina even said that Smith gave him his blessing. While on Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk, the married couple talked about the relationship, and Pinkett admitted to being in “an entanglement” with Alsina while she and Smith were on a break.
WHEN PEOPLE ZOL
Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma lit up inspiration for a song when she gave reasons for why the sale of cigarettes was banned under COVID-19 lockdown level 5 to 3.
Many smokers are on edge after the ban on the sale of cigarettes was upheld by the government, and the minister explained why she made this decision, using the word ‘zol’.
This gave music producer Max Hurrell the opportunity to light up social media with his creativity.
The celebrity stories of 2020 are vast and varied — we had everything from juicy pieces of gossip to harrowing tragedies and instances that made us want to hide under the covers and never come back out. This is going to be a year that’s talked about for many generations to come.
