It's been over eight years since I've seen her on telly and on Wednesday I was tickled to see
Chichi Letswalo back on the box.
I tuned into Zaziwa - not knowing who was going to be guesting - and found myself chuckling when it turned out to Chichi. Seeing her again made me realise that she was a predecessor to Khanyi Mbau and Nonhle Thema when it came to her exploits and the controversy surrounding her.
Pearl Modiadie contextualised Chichi's career in South Africa before she left for New York and went on to ask her about the controversy that surrounded her when she left.
Chichi, who had roles on Generations, Backstage and Tshisa, presented the SABC3 reality The Wedding Show opposite Ed Jordan (who I haven't heard about forever too!).
The Wedding Show catapulted Chichi to nationwide fame in 2003 and then, suddenly, in 2007 she packed her bags and left South Africa for New York.
At the time there were all sorts of stories about her. Two that are most memorable are a City Press story that said that Chichi left South Africa because she hates the country. Here's a link to it:
Chichi 'hates South Africa'.
Another story I read a while after she left said that Chichi had left because she'd been hounded out of the country by the press. I don't have a link to it unfortunately but I remember being intrigued by it at the time.
Flash forward to now and Chichi went off about the reports on Pearl's couch. She mentioned the "Chichi 'hates South Africa'" story specifically and had this to say to Pearl:
"It hurt me so much. The part that hurt me the most was the headline Chichi 'hates South Africa' When I saw that headline I was so acid, especially because I wasn't interviewed and I didn't say those words. It made me sick. It's my life, it's were I began, I'm nothing without this place. I think that's venomous. The part that shocked me when people had something to say about my choices."
She went on to say that she loves South Africa and saw herself as representing the country while she was away. She also said that she didn't want come back.
Chichi to Pearl: "It wasn't easy because I didn't really want to be back so being back was a bit disappointing. Tough but necessary."
One thing Pearl
didn't do, which she really should have done, was to ask Chichi why she came back. Chichi's very buddy buddy with Bonnie Mbuli and features in her book Eyebags and Dimples but that's not reason enough obviously.
Both Pearl and Chichi were very silent about why she's returned so I automatically assumed she had to because things didn't work out in New York as she'd hoped.
As for what she's up to now ... she's studying philosophy. She said that the entertainment industry's vicious and seemed sceptical of getting back into it BUT she looked as if she had the time of her life being back on TV.
I'm very quizzy to see if we see more of her.