DJ Zinhle feels exposed
DJ to bare her private life on a reality show
DJ Zinhle may be one of the most popular musicians in SA, but she said the thought of opening up about her life to TV cameras and becoming a reality star was one of the most frightening experiences of her life.
Zinhle, who is a mentor on TV reality music competition Vodacom NXT LVL, recently finished filming a reality show entitled It Takes a Village with DJ Zinhle, which airs from tonight on SABC1. She told TshisaLIVE that it took a lot of courage for her to agree to the reality show because she was so guarded with her private life.
“I have kept to myself for a very long time and so I think people generally don’t get me. This was my biggest fear, doing reality shows, that people will get to know me personally and it may change their perceptions of me,” she said recently.
She said the experiences made her feel exposed but was grateful for her inexperience on screen because it allowed her to be herself, especially when tackling difficult social issues on her reality show.
“It was one of the toughest things that I have done. It was emotionally draining to the point that I often went home to sleep because it was too much. It was tough to hear [the Vodacom NXT LVL contestants].”
Still, their stories have helped her open up more to her fans. And after announcing at the end of last year that she would keep her daughter Kairo off social media to protect her privacy, the star recently U-turned on the decision and started an account for her little one.
She said the decision was one of the most uncomfortable things she had ever done. “I just woke up one day and thought let me just do this with my child. It has been the most uncomfortable thing for me to do.
“I regret it a little but that is how it goes. I haven’t had to share her for such a long time and it is hard to share her now.
“The thing is, if I decide that it is not working out, I can alway deactivate the account,” the DJ said.
‘‘ This was my biggest fear ... that people will know me personally