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AMERICAN actress Tiffany Haddish flew out of Harare on Sunday after the end of her vacation in this country.
When Tifanny left her Los Angeles home and decided to travel to Zimbabwe on holiday, she did not think that her vacation would end with headlines on CNN and BBC.
But that is what happened.
Her TikTok video about finding herself in a “grocery store” in Harare triggered a tsunami on social media and spilled into mainstream media.
In the nearly five-minute video, the comedian and actress said:
“Hey, y’all. So, I’m out here in Zimbabwe in Harare and look at the grocery store. They got a grocery store. It’s beautiful.
“Look at this grocery store. It’s huge! It’s absolutely humongous. In Africa, baby. Yeah. Believe it, believe it, believe it, believe it. Africa. Zimbabwe. Uh-huh.”
That did not go down well with some Zimbabweans who felt that Tiffanny mocked their country and others said it was hard to believe that a celebrity like Tiffany did not know that we actually had some good supermarkets.
However, others, like Plot Mhako, felt otherwise.
Mhako told CNN that many of the people who criticised Tiffany might have missed the dark humour in it.
He said, as a comedian, Tiffany’s portrayal reflects a widely held negative perception about some African countries and she provided a satirical take on the reality.
Mhako said this showed that many Westerners have limited knowledge about Africa but, crucially, also showed how the media generally portrays Africa.
We believe there is no negative publicity and, whichever way one looks at the controversy generated by Tiffany’s comments, what is unquestionable is that all this has shown that celebrities, including those from Hollywood, still view Zimbabwe as a prime tourism destination.
We have suffered from the negative headlines about our country which are not a true reflection of the reality of life in Zimbabwe.
Thanks to celebrities like Tiffany, the world knows that even the Hollywood stars are still coming to Zimbabwe for vacation because what we have in this country is special.
No amount of negative headlines will ever take away the reality that, in terms of being an attractive tourist destination, we are up there among the best places in Africa.
Crucially, Tiffany said that a lot of the stuff that is written in the media about us is not a true reflection of what is on the ground.
She visited the Victoria Falls and spent about a week in Harare where, among other things, she went to have fun at Pabloz night club in Borrowdale.
Her final public appearance came on Saturday when she went to shop at MH Luxury Boutique, an exclusive shop that is owned by businessman Mudiwa Hood.
Tiffany looked absolutely happy as she bought clothes and related stuff in the shop.
Such images are worth their weight in gold when it comes to promoting our country as a safe and beautiful tourist destination.
Thank you Tiffany for your visit, for us it’s all that matters.
Online Reporter