Nonhle Thema dropped by shoe brand
Television personality Nonhle Thema has landed herself into trouble again. This time around the star has been dropped by shoe brand Madison: The Heart of New York after she made derogatory comments about Botswana girls.
Thema and fellow TV star Khanyi Mbau were in Botswana over the past weekend when Sowetan reported that she went on a rant saying that Botswana girls were ugly, fat and were infected with AIDS. .
However, the star has now dismissed the claims saying that she was just playing the jealous girlfriend to her boyfriend.
Thema told Sunday World: “I was on the phone and talking to my boyfriend who was out of the country at the time, I was telling him about the girls where he was, I was just being a jealous girlfriend.”
The move came too late as the shoe brand Madison released a statement saying: “We in no way condone derogatory comments against any sex, race or medical conditions.”
“Due to the alleged circumstances of this trip and its repercussions, we regret to announce Ms Nonhle Thema is no longer the brand ambassador for Madison, The Heart of New York shoes,”
In addition the brand has also pledged to make a donation of R10 000 towards AIDS awareness in Botswana and have announced that they will be working alongside the OPTIONS brand which stocks Madison shoes in Botswana to raise money and awareness in regards to AIDS related illnesses
The star retaliated on Twitter saying: “The truth is my Madison shoes endorsement I never got paid.I just got shoes. there Deal had no money (sic).”
In a statement Madison said: “Thema’s brand ambassador agreement was structured to allow her to garner revenue from sales of shoes.”
“We would like to clearly state that monies and percentages were agreed on and all monies paid directly to Ms Thema. Any outstanding amounts owed to Nonhle Thema have been agreed upon by the brand and will be paid out as well.”
According to the deal, Nonhle also received 10 pairs of shoes plus four extra pairs per season to attend special events/ photo shoots.
Thema is fast running out of endorsements as Madison shoe brand was her biggest endorsement after her much publicised meltdown in 2012. The star was fired from several jobs and lost out on many endorsement deals around the time.
