Lorence urious at iring
WHILE Soul City actors smiled all the way to the bank after receiving their payslips this week, Florence Masebe wept to her lawyers after receiving her pink slip.
Masebe, who plays Sis Noni in the SABC1 drama, was fired by email by the series bosses on Thursday.
Sunday World understands that her alleged sin was asking that her shooting schedule be postponed until she had given birth. The 41year-old actress is expecting her third child.
Masebe declined to comment and referred questions to her manager, Obey Muchipisi.
He confirmed that Soul City had shown Masebe the door. Soul City is a health institution and what they have done contradicts what they stand for. We have requested a meeting with the commissioning editor of SABC1 and the production house so that we can engage each other about this matter, he said.
He said they would take legal action if the matter was not resolved urgently.
John Molefe, marketing executive of the Soul City Institute, countered the claims by accusing Masebe and her agent of reneging on an earlier agreement.
When we found out Florence was pregnant and was due to give birth in April, we moved Florence s 20 shooting schedules to after she gives birth. Both us and her agent were happy with that decision, even though it meant bigger costs for us, but we obviously wanted to accommodate her with her condition, [as] we are a health organisation.
The problem came when Florence and her agent deflected from our initial agreement of doing the 20 shoots after the baby was born, saying that she will only be available for less than 15 shoots.
That will cost us added financial difficulties and inconvenience other actors and crew. We also cannot just write off Florence because that would cost us more money. We are still working to find a workable solution,” said Molefe.
Masebe has appeared in Generations, Scandal! and Muvhango.