By Tamlyn Canham
Natasha Thahane has seemingly made a U-turn on claims she made during an interview on ‘Podcast and Chill With MacG‘.
The actress has come under fire for claiming she received a large amount of money from the government to further her studies after reaching out to Baleka Mbete for help.
Natasha needed funding to secure her place at the New York Film Academy in 2017. She asked the former Speaker of the National Assembly to “please arrange something” for her.
“She managed to speak to [the department of] Arts and Culture and then they gave me funding,” Natasha told MacG.
Yoh 🤭 | Natasha Thahane implicating Baleka Mbete and Department of Arts and Culture there by #macgpodcastandchill
While others complete application forms, Nathi Mthethwa department gave her money because she is a granddaughter of Desmond Tutu. 🚮 https://t.co/InXl7gygVb
— TK_Nala 📚 (@NalaThokozane) November 27, 2021
Twitter users slammed the ‘Blood & Water‘ star, with some accusing her of using her connections to get funding.
Natasha clears the air
Natasha took to Twitter on Monday to clear the air about a few things. She says her comments were taken out of context.
“I did not receive R1 million from Baleka Mbete or the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture,” she said. Natasha also apologised to Mbete for speaking about her like they have a personal relationship. She says this is not the case.
Natasha says she just happened to be in the same building where Mbete was having a meeting. She approached Mbete and told her about her funding issue.
“She [Mbete] then advised me to explore the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture because they’ve got funding opportunities. That was my first conversation and my last conversation with her. She did not make any calls on my behalf, she did not send any emails on my behalf.”
https://twitter.com/Natasha_Thahane/status/1465730096921292800
Natasha says after her chat with Mbete, she sent through her application to the department.
She says she only received R350,000 for her first semester, adding that her family also helped her with funds.
— Natasha Thahane (@Natasha_Thahane) November 30, 2021
Social media reaction
Social media users believe Natasha has only made things worse for herself. “Delete ntombi before we write to the [Public Protector] to probe,” a Twitter user named @azuk1le commented.
Delete ntombi before we write to the PP to probe pic.twitter.com/eNcHhBOWzK
— iNdaba NguMhlaba✋🏾 (@azuk1le) November 30, 2021
Tweeps pointed out several discrepancies in her story.
“This just made things worse. First of all, you explicitly mentioned in your interview that it was a phone call – now you ran into her? Secondly, bursary funding is limited to R250k. How did you get R100k additional funding? Lastly, in what ways did you contribute to the arts?” one tweep asked.
This just made things worse 🗑. First of all, you explicitly mentioned in your interview that it was a phone call – now you ran into her? Secondly, bursary funding is limited to R250k. How did you get R100k additional funding? Lastly, in what ways did you contribute to the arts? pic.twitter.com/uLrdn1lc28
— Itumeleng Mokoena (@MiZz_TooMe) November 30, 2021
Some Twitter users came to her defence. One woman said Natasha did not state that she received R1-million funding in her interview.
But to be fair, she said the total cost she incurred was roughly a million and more then she noticed that she really needs funding hense the applications. I think she stretched that amount to look rich rich but either way, she alluded to the million coming from her own pocket.
— Tshiamo (@22TSHIAMO22) December 1, 2021
Here’s a look at what others had to say.
Mam baleka behind the scenes pic.twitter.com/T5oOKTgGf2
— sensei🈲 (@PapiSensei_) November 30, 2021
You’re about to trend again MaBaby……you should’ve kept quiet. pic.twitter.com/XTXmDFJhqf
— Cilea Kunutu (@MrsMagongwa) November 30, 2021
All we wanted was proof of application from the Department. pic.twitter.com/7KSjWVFBi9
— The Grand – Pedi (@Nte_bogeng) November 30, 2021
This is what other students go through Natasha. That’s why they’re so hurt. And you talking about it again and again is making us angry all over again. It’s hard when you have to apply for funding but someone else requests just like that and they’re sorted. Same school pic.twitter.com/G3VH1Wyt98
— Zealot Titusson (@titusson_zealot) November 30, 2021



