After make-up artist Muzi Zuma accused Bonang Matheba of ‘dodging’ a R25K bill for over six months, many fingers have been pointed.
From Bonang owing the money, to her current management company pinning the blame on her old pr company, the only loser is Muzi, who still hasn’t been paid.
TshisaLIVE his mom is now in debt as a result caught up with Muzi so that he could share his side of the story.
Muzi cast the spotlight on the issue this week in a Twitter Q&A after a follower asked if he was still doing B’s make-up.
Muzi, who has worked with Bonang for four years, said he was not on good terms with the TV and radio personality as he had not been paid for a job from July 2017.
He told TshisaLIVE he signed a contract with Bonang to do her make-up for the duration of the KFC Taste Kitchen show, which was 24 days long.
Muzi said that he was promised payment of R25,000 once the shoot ended on July 5 last year.
“I contacted Bonang on numerous occasions to find out when I would get my payment and I was told that she did not receive payment from KFC and that she would be paid by September 30. So I waited until then. But September passed, November passed and December passed.”
Muzi said that a string of WhatsApp messages and emails have gone unanswered since then and he’s just been given the run-around.
“The reason I have kept quiet for this long is because I am not here to air anyone’s dirty laundry on social media. For four years I have done Bonang’s make-up and I have not put a foot wrong, but it is just frustrating that they are taking advantage of me.”
Muzi claimed that he was also promised food and accommodation for the duration of the shoot, but that never happened.
“Bonang told me that I would be fed and have a place to sleep because I was here for her convenience, but when I came to Joburg, I had to sort myself out. I used my mom’s credit card to cover those costs knowing that I would be able to pay the debt off.”
Muzi said he was angry and frustrated by the level of respect that has been shown to him.
When contacted for comment, Celebrity Services Africa, Bonang’s new pr company, said it had no knowledge of the unpaid bill.
However, TshisaLIVE is in possession of a WhatsApp conversation between a CSA account manager and Muzi, where he was asked to do her make-up and declined because of the money owing to him.
CSA director, Davin Phillips, reiterated that it had no knowledge of the bill, and later claimed to be “looking at the payment” that was debited from Bonang’s account to Muzi.
“Muzi Zuma’s claim is news to us as this expense has already been charged to Ms Matheba by her previous management company, who then should have paid Ms Zuma. Let it be recorded that we have yet to be contacted by Ms Zuma, which we find surprising, considering the claims being made on Twitter.”
TshisaLIVE contacted DNA Brand Architects’ Sylvester Chauke, who said that any expenses procured by Bonang should be settled directly by her.
“This has been our modus operandi for five years. Hence Muzi is engaging Bonang directly and not through DNA as he understands that too,” he said.
CSA later said the amount had been paid to DNA and it was their responsibility to pay.
Muzi, meanwhile, remains out of pocket. As does his mother, whose card he borrowed to cover his expenses.
