Online Reporter
South African actress Luyanda Zwane has shared the deeply personal and traumatic experience that led to her departure from Sibongile & The Dlaminis, alleging that a fellow cast member pointed a gun at her while they were travelling to set.
Speaking on the Read the Room podcast, the actress said she was just 19 years old when she landed the lead role in what she described as “a very big show,” with 2 million viewers.
Recalling the incident, Zwane explained that production provided transport for cast members, with those living in the same area sharing a vehicle.
She said one morning at around 5am, she was preparing herself mentally for a demanding day on set.
“It was 5am and I had about 20 scenes that day. I needed to relax before that. I needed silence in the car.”
According to Zwane, a cast member wanted to connect his phone to the car’s Bluetooth to play music. She politely asked him not to because she wanted to mentally prepare for the long day ahead.
She alleges that the situation quickly escalated.
“He pulled out a gun, pointed it at me and said, ‘This is not your mother’s car. You will play whatever song I want to be played at any time.’”
Zwane said she immediately reported the incident to production and informed her talent agency, N&N, because she no longer felt safe.
However, she claims the response she received from production left her devastated.
“The response was, ‘Did you die?’ They asked me to go back to set immediately because they were running out of time.”
Determined to pursue the matter, Zwane said she emailed her agents expressing her desire to involve the authorities. She claims she was told the firearm was not real and that production would obtain an affidavit confirming that.
When she told her mother, who is a police officer, the response was immediate.
“Whether the gun is real or not, your life was threatened.”
Before the police became involved, Zwane said production asked whether they could find a middle ground.
Despite feeling hurt by their initial response, she agreed.
“I’m being me. I don’t want anyone to lose their job. I don’t know where you come from. I don’t know if you are the only breadwinner back home, so I agreed to finding a common ground. But I did not like your initial response to the incident.”
Her only request was that she no longer travel in the same vehicle as the cast member because she no longer felt safe.
“I need to be mentally good to perform well, and if that isn’t the case, it compromises my performance.”
According to Zwane, the arrangement lasted only a week or two before production informed her that providing separate transport was putting pressure on the show’s budget. Faced with that, she made a life-changing decision.
“I immediately sent an email saying, ‘Should there be a season two for the show, they shouldn’t cast me at all.’”
Although she decided not to return for a second season, Zwane still had five months left to complete filming for the remainder of Season 1.
She described the working environment after the incident as hostile.
“They gave me a very hard time, and I had no value of expression on set.”
She said colleagues would make comments whenever she arrived on set.
“When I would walk in, they would say, ‘Here comes lawyer… contract… police lady.’”
The actress said the remarks left her feeling unheard despite having raised what she believed was a serious safety concern.
Zwane also alleged that commissioning editors were brought in to reprimand her and that several people attempted to convince her to remain silent.
“There were times when people would come to me and try to sweet-talk me into basically shutting up.”
She also recalled being asked a question that has stayed with her.
“Do you want to be an actor or an activist?”
Reflecting on the experience, Zwane encouraged young performers entering the industry to stand up for themselves.
“Whoever comes after me, whoever is a young girl who has big dreams and big eyes for the industry, do not keep quiet.”
Following her departure from the show, Zwane revealed she struggled to find acting work for almost a year.
She has since returned to television with The Polygamist and Season 2 of Spinners, produced by Canal+.
Looking to the future, the actress said she has her sights set on an international career.
“I would love for Tyler Perry to book me for a job. I want to work on a global stage and not just South Africa.”
She also expressed a desire to avoid being typecast, saying she wants the opportunity to continue exploring the full range of her abilities as an actress.
At the time of publication, the production company behind Sibongile & The Dlaminis and the individual accused by Zwane had not publicly responded to the allegations she made during the podcast interview – IOL
