Early bullying moulded Khanyi

BEING bullied‚ either on social media or in reality, is not a new thing for Khanyi Mbau, who has shared that even before she looked like a “white person”, she was labelled white.

Khanyi said her resilient spirit began long before she found fame‚ explaining to D J Sbu on Massiv Metro that growing up she was bullied for speaking English and having relaxed hair.

“I was always different because I went to a white school‚ so they used to call me ‘Khanyi Mlungu’ [white person] because I spoke English. They would always say ‘Khanyi Mlungu’ because I was the only one who wore a blazer and went to a proper school, according to them‚” she said.

The Soweto-born presenter explained that she travelled to school because it was in the suburbs.

She remembered incidents from when she was younger‚ which included using a kombi (which was a big deal) to go to school and people not understanding her relaxed hair.

“I was bothered a lot. My hair was relaxed‚ so most kids didn’t understand it. So all they wanted to do was run their hands through my silky hair‚” she said.

The presenter‚ who has since rebranded her image from a selfconfessed gold-digger to businesswoman‚ said being treated like a “spectacle” was nothing new for her.

Khanyi, who has also gone through a series of cosmetic procedures previously, said she had an image to uphold.

“I’m a dream seller. I’m a billboard for a fantasy people look at. When you are a celebrity known for nice things‚ you need to keep that up‚” she said. — DDC