Kelly Khumalo is bearing the brunt of the cancel culture, losing two of her gigs as her name gets thrown about in the ongoing Senzo Meyiwa murder trial.
While thousands of her fans continue to throw their support behind the music sensation, others have called for promoters and organisations to ensure she does not get gigs until the case concludes.
The “cancel culture” has been a growing phenomenon in the entertainment industry over the past few years, with some well-known celebrities feeling the heat of it while others simply continue with their lives without being cancelled.
This concept is believed to be the withdrawal of support for celebrities whose actions aren’t socially acceptable, leading to the cancellation of their shows, being shunned on social media, and, most commonly, being banned from gigs.
The question of which factors people look at when cancelling an individual have remained unanswered, as some people do not get cancelled.
Despite the idea that an individual is innocent until proven guilty, Khumalo has been canned from performing at some events.
The Empini star was dropped by Tribute to Women Festival as well as the Maseru Park extravaganza.
In a statement shared publicly, the Lesotho festival organisers acknowledged that Khumalo remained innocent until proven guilty but said they had to announce that she would no longer perform at the festival.
This announcement followed barely a week after the local Tribute To Women Festival canned her from performing in their highly-anticipated event that celebrates women.
“As Maseru Park, we Inform you that we have seen comments on social media about one of our guest performers, which came to our attention that we need to inform our public and society that we are putting KELLY KHUMALO on hold.We respect the professionalism of the legal team in the processes. The management of Maseru Park, in the interest of our JAZZ FESTIVAL, we have taken the decision to relieve KELLY KHUMALO of the obligation to perform at our festival, and we acknowledge that she is not guilty until proven so. Thank you for your understanding.”
The Tribute Women Festival revealed that they noted comments from social media, and their decision was based on the interest of safeguarding their festival.
“We have noted, with concern, various comments on social media platforms and calls from many patrons of our festival. We respect the legal processes and wish to indicate that Ms Kelly Khumalo is innocent until proven otherwise. However, in the interest of safeguarding our festival, management has taken the decision to relieve Ms Khumalo of her obligations to perform at our festival this year to afford her and her team the time they require to deal with the issues emanating from the current court proceedings.”