Being True To Myself

TV star Ntando Duma is unashamedly bold and super-confident. She talks about internet trolls, her abusive childhood and falling in love.

- Hopewell Mpapu

SHE’S just 21 but her face is so well-known it feels like she’s been around forever. Bubbly, gorgeous and talented, she’s amassed quite a following on social media – and like most people in the public eye, not all the attention has been favourable.

There was an outpouring of support and sadness when she recently announced she was leaving Rhythm City – her character Zinzi Dandala, was a firm fan favourite on e.tv’s flagship show.

But Ntando Duma admits she was taken aback when she was recently shamed in cyberspace after a meme was circulated by trolls who compared her to an alien after she posted a picture of herself in a swimsuit.

The actress, looking drop-dead gorgeous with her trademark chiskop cut and long limbs in a high-cut costume, found her picture alongside a creepy creature affecting a vaguely similar pose.

Ntando, who is also the first African ambassador for international takkie brand Skechers and a sought-after MC, admits she was stunned by the meme but didn’t dwell on it for too long. “Whatever I decide to post is there because I want people to see it,” she says. “I’m very confident and comfortable with the fact that I posted it.”

Time and experience of the big, bad world has taught her to toughen up. Ntando is a well-known face in Mzansi, arriving on the scene as a presenter on popular e.tv youth show Craz-e before moving on to Rhythm City.

But behind the beautiful face and composed air lies a painful past – one she’s now ready to share with us.