South African music artists recently gathered at Tsakane Stadium to entertain their fans on the soccer field but things went south when popular local rapper Big Zulu and music boss DJ Tira got into a heated argument with gospel singer, Dumi Mkokstad, on live TV.
The 4th instalment of Zulu’s celebrity soccer match saw fans come out in their numbers to support Mzansi celebs.
The 2024 edition kicked off on a high note. Unlike other times, this match had media sponsors and, for the first time, was televised on the SABC platform with sportscaster Andile Ncube as the presenter.
However, viewers were left shocked when an argument ensued over Tira including professional players in his team instead of having amateur players. The argument brought the game to a halt.
Ncube quickly switched to an advert break to save the SABC and the celebrities from embarrassment.
Since then, Zulu took to Instagram to issue an apology to Mkokstad.
“For those who were offended by me calling Dumi a boy, please find it in your hearts to forgive me,” said Zulu.
“I'd like to apologise to him, his wife, his children, his family, his fans, the attendees of the tournament as well as those who watched it on TV. There were a lot of mistakes done ... A lot happened,” he said.
Watch the full video below:
After social media users blasted Zulu in the comments, the rapper decided to turn off the comments.
Meanwhile, award-winning musician, radio veteran and entrepreneur, DJ Sbu, took to YouTube to weigh in on the situation.
Sbu said that these celebrities should not do anything that would “fumble the bag”.
“Celebrity match has grown, attracting all sorts of sponsors, and it was screened on SABC. When something is screened on SABC, as far as the rules of the games are concerned, and as far as the commercial aspect of the produce goes, you want to be very careful in not fumbling the bag.
“You guys have brought it to this level where it’s now attracting the SABC and sponsors as well, let us not fumble the bag, let’s grow this thing to become even more bigger, let’s also have ways in which it can also benefit people in need ...
“The commercial aspect of it depends on you guys treating it like a business, and you guys behaving like business people,” said the DJ.