Shy Or Arrogant Debate Rages Forth

Why on earth would I be writing about Sizwe Dhlomo, you wonder. Eight months ago it would have been because he was one of the few young celebs I looked up to in this industry in terms of their success and their image. Now, it is because he is leaving LIVE and people are asking what he will be doing next as he's fallen out of favour with a lot of fans.

Was LIVE a mistake for Sizwe? That's the question I asked myself when I continued to watch him wither in the background between Bonang and Minnie. Much as Minnie got a lot of flack on the show, Sizwe on the other hand was just a wall flower. I personally think the show exposed a side of Sizwe that the public hadn't seen before and it was not a positive thing. 

Sizwe is a goodlooking guy, love or hate him, you can not ignore that. Unfortunately, as is always the case, his looks have been a blessing and curse in that people expect more from him than they would from an average looking guy. When someone stands out like him, you inevitably want him to bring more than just his good looks to the table. Sadly, with LIVE, Sizwe did not. 

For few years now since Sizwe came into the public eye after being chosen to be an MTV VJ  there has been a lot of murmur about the guy's arrogance. Some said he was just reserved and shy whilst others relayed incidents of how Mr Dhlomo was rude and/or aloof when they met him in person.

Just recently Sizwe decided to take on Nonhle after she made a comment about YFM Djs being broke. While Sizwe may have felt it necessary to defend his colleagues and employer some people made it clear that he should not have been the one to do that as he is on the same boat as Nonhle.

Now, I am not one to take people's perceptions about a person as gospel. Often I have learned that people expect a lot from celebrities and when they do not get it they brand them as bad people. Just because someone did not stop his/her entire day to accomodate you doesn't mean they are arrogant and do not care about fans. 

However where Sizwe is concerned, I had a 'first hand experience' of his rudeness. I tried interviewing him at a party in Fourways and he refused. I have had few people refuse to do interviews with me while I was with Zoopy and I understood why. It was the manner in which Sizwe declined the interview that shocked me. You can say no to someone without making them feel stupid. 

After the event I immediately went on Twitter and let him know that "humility is such an endearing quality". I was upset since his behaviour was so unnecessary given that he interviews people too and should understand that I was just doing my job and there was no need for him being that rude. 

He did not apologise but claimed that I shoved a camera in his face while he was in the middle of a conversation, which wasn't the case but since I was not holding the camera I gave him the benefit of the doubt and let it go. Afterall he is entitled to be jerk if he chooses, that's his prerogative.

After announcing that Bonang will be the sole presenter of LIVE, Lebogang Mpshe asked me what I thought the future holds for the other presenters. I told her that the other guys will still be prominent players in this industry as their careers were not only tied to LIVE. Of course the conversation went into Sizwe being boring and in her words "watching him present is like watching paint dry".

I can not say I know Sizwe well enough to distinguish the person from the presenter. In fact I have never even listened to his radio show or watched any of his shows on TV except occasionally on LIVE. Naturally I was not in a place to pass judgement on his presenting skills, nor would I want to. 

I turned the question to some of my Facebook friends and posed the question; What do you guys think of Sizwe? Comments flooded in and these are some of them;

Xolani Kulata Big headed and arrogant as well not warm to public. He was voted to be famous by us He lacks to present with ppl he shud have his own show unyabile

Joseph Sakhile He is so full of himself thinking dat he's trey songs or Will Smith for me his presenting skills are very quostionable.he was supposed to be groomed first b4 he was offered a job.and he must learn to be ppls person cause he's in a show bizz.unless he's in a wrong industry the public was the 1 who voted for him to be on that big screen. I wish he can read this:Look at handsome dudes like Trevor Noah and Lunga frm selimathunzi they are down to earth yet extremely handsome they don't let fame get into their heads now those are show biz rockers.

 Omega Prince I think 4rm deep inside his nt a gud person,he jus pretend 2 b 1.remember I said “ I THINK“

Dikeledi Lizzy Well his cute I like him a lot,but I think his full of himself and faking his personality 

Some people were a bit more brutal in their comments and using words that I honestly can not repeat here. When I asked about his presenting, this were the comments; 

Samson Sam Presenting skills! Wat a u on about phil. I hardly hear wat sizwe is saying on live. Although hes cute.

Gayton Gayle Davy Honestly,I personally believe he is a good presenter but not for Live!rather for gospel shows or say educational shows!somizi can out-do Sizwe in my opinion....He is not cut to entertain..

Nobuhle Mthombeni ive never listened to his radio show but on tv he sucks big tym. His skills are dodge, personality wise angazi but he looks kinda cold and aloof

Percy Pitso Cute and extremely arrogant and self centered. He is really not a good presenter, he lacks energy and creativity in front of the camera. He is cold and so bloody script orientated.

One of only two positive comments was; 

Zukiswa Mnxeba i think his cute,his a dish,i dnt judge ke abt his personality coz who am i to judge,we all make mistakes nd we are nt perfect

What caught my attention was this comment:

guys ppl always banento yothetha wether wenza okuhle or kubi,bt kulive amalady andwebile if naye bezondweba bezodika

What Zukiswa raised was an interesting point. In life you can not please everybody. One of the biggest lessons I have personally learned in life and this industry in particular is that NOT EVERYBODY is going to like you or your work. 

However, even journalists have taken a jab at Siswe's character. Sowetan journo, Zenoyise Madikwa noted in her list of South Africa's "IT" men; 

Sizwe Dhlomo. Though he is arrogant and you would like to give him a big slap, this guy drips swag in gallons. He is cute, he dresses well and, boy, he knows what he's all about.

Rainha while reporting on Sizwe's potential future as a rapper quipped that the guy's confidence "borders on arrogance"

Where I come from they say that if more than one person say something that is not flattering about you, you better check yourself.

Why am I even bothering about what other people think about Sizwe now in 2011 when he is not the A-list guy he was last year? Well, as he leaves LIVE we will all be looking forward to seeing what he tackles next in his career. 

Much as some South Africans have a negative opinion of the guy, he is in the industry and will be part of popular culture for as long as he is still employable in this business. That means a lot of young South Africans will be looking up to him. 

My personal hope is that Sizwe can look into his image and see what he is doing wrong to give off the perception that he needs to come down from his high horse. Sizwe's career was launched by tv viewers voting for him, it would be sad if he totally forgets that and starts acting like his above them. No-one is bigger than the people he serves. 

Entertainers are here to entertain the audience. If you do not connect with the people you are supposed to entertain then you might as well take a bow. Sizwe is a smart guy. You do not reach the levels of success he has without some smartness in you. 

Even after my rather unfortunate encounter with him, I still wish the guy the best. I think sometimes we believe the hype too much that we loose touch with reality. The reality is that, being nice to people costs nothing. In fact it benefits you more than the person who is receiving your kindness.

I will repeat the same words again; Humility is such an endearing quality!!

Come down and hang with us the little people maybe you may just learn something about yourself that you did not know. Being kind gets one a lot of supporters and trust me bro when times are hard, those are the people who make the storms tolerable.