Bonang Matheba: The Feather Awards would be boring without me. For someone who worked so hard to become famous, Bonang Matheba sure does seem to hate it when people talk about her and she makes it a point to “clap back” every chance she gets.
She has been nominated nearly every year since the awards’ inception and she has been a part of its hilarious script for almost a decade. In fact, her pinned tweet and most iconic quote states: “They have to talk about you. Because when they talk about themselves, nobody listens.”
Not to say nobody was listening when the hosts, musicians, government officials, activists, and celebrities spoke about everything else other than Bonang at last night’s Feather Awards ceremony but the 3-second joke about her tax woes was too hilarious not to laugh at.
The joke was made by the evening’s host (and Bonang’s ex-bestie) Somizi Mhlongo who kept with the theme which was celebrating a decade of the LGBTIQ+ awards ceremony.
Mhlongo made a quip about how long he has been in the industry and followed it up with a joke about how, even though he has been at this for over 10 years, some people haven’t paid their taxes in 10 years.
Bonang, who is currently at the centre of a tax evasion case was hit with tax fraud charges for allegedly failing to pay personal tax between 2008 and 2017 and company tax between 2014 and 2017.
Her case is currently on-going and she is set to re-appear in court at the end of this month. A fan lamented about the joke, tagging Matheba to alert her about it, to which she replied: “It’s boring if they don’t baby.”
It’s boring if they don’t baby. ;-) https://t.co/7qMClj0Lpa
— Bonang Matheba 👑 (@Bonang) November 15, 2018
Matheba, who was not in attendance and hasn’t been for years, was nominated in the Best Styled Female category. She lost out to Top Billing presenter and model Ayanda Thabethe.
Other winners on the evening included a number of actors in the Ferguson Films stable such as Thembsie Matu, Michelle Mosalake, and Bohang Moeko as well as musician Sjava, who stole the show in a white “dress” and Avante Garde mask.
During his acceptance speech, the musician stated that the outfit was a gesture in an effort to honour members of the LGBTIQ+ community who are persecuted for doing the exact thing he was doing – wearing what he wants to wear and living his truth.
Heyi, we are still speechless about Sjava's solidary outfit. #feathers10 #feathersawards2018https://t.co/msP6Fm9QPd pic.twitter.com/TBZwNoj3GX
— Tinotenda Maveneka (@tino_maveneka) November 16, 2018
Check out a full list of winners below:
Best Styled Male – Riky Rick
Best Styled Female – Ayanda Thabethe
Cutest Couple – Steve & Lucy Letsike
Diva Extraordinaire – Thembsie Matu
Drama Queen – AKA & Matlapa
Fag Hag – Rami Chuene
Hot Chick – Michelle Mosalakae
Hunk of the Year – Bohang Moeko
Media Award of the Year – GaySA Radio
Musician of the Year – Sjava
Role Model of the Year – Ntsupe Mohapi
Socialite of the Year – Yaya Mavundla
Sports Personality – Hlengiwe Buthelezi
African Feather of the Year – Kenyan LGBTIQ+ activist Denis Nzioka
Social Media Personality of the Year – @Fistvoices
Simon Nkoli Award – Phumi Mthethwa
