Scandal magnate
From CEO to oh-no! Quinton Nyathi is in the gossip pages again thanks to that bad reputation.
You know that kid in your class who was naughty so often that eventually the teacher just blamed him for everything even when he was just sitting there like an angel? If you were that kid, you know how Quinton Nyathi (Brighton Ngoma) feels on Monday 3 December. To the public, there is no way that Quinton could have been swept up in a human trafficking police sting at his club Qs Lounge on Friday 30 November without secretly being aware of the shady situation allegedly going on right under his nose. “Quinton is really confused by the whole situation because now his silent partner at Qs Neo (Jerry Mofokeng Wa Makhetha) is on the good side of this shootout with the police? One of the cops Javas (Thapelo Aphiri) even says that it’s not possible that Quinton had no idea of what was going on in his own place of business,” reveals Brighton.
THE USUAL SUSPECT
Being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people is the running theme of Quinton’s life. In January 2016, he found out that his then- wife Thembeka (Masasa Mbangeni) had deliberately hid the fact that he had a son with his ex-lover. In February 2016, Thembeka went on trial for murder and in May 2016, Quinton realised to his horror that not only had she drugged him on their wedding night in May 2015 so that she could hide the corpse of her murder victim, she was also faking her pregnancy. The divorce and murder cases were messy! Quinton hit rockbottom – and the headlines – again in July 2016 he when he was ousted as CEO of NFH by his own mother Layla (Natasha Sutherland) after he overdosed aboard a plane while skipping a business trip to go holiday on party island Ibiza. So when someone is accused of being up to no good, Quinton fits like a puzzle piece in the public’s mind.
REPUTATION SALVATION
The storm of bad publicity is disastrous for NFH and on Thursday 6 December, Layla asks Quinton to make a huge sacrifice. While the action could save the company’s reputation, it could also permanently destroy Quinton’s image. People are already looking at him differently. “Those close to him don’t necessarily believe 100% that he is innocent. And he can’t vent. If he reacts in frustration, people are going to say, ‘Ja, he’s guilty, that is why he’s lashing out.’ He knows that he is not that guy. He is not a sex trafficker. He is not a human trafficker,” explains Brighton. Quinton might resent the suggestion that he becomes NFH’s sacrificial lamb yet again, but it’s not just his life and his reputation on the line. “So many people are dependent on him and the company for their income and livelihoods,” points out the actor. This is Quinton’s chance to step up and prove that he’s more than just some irresponsible playboy was made CEO much too young, but the choice he makes could leave him with an even worse reputation if things don’t work out according to his new, top-secret strategy.
DANGEROUS MINDS
Don’t expect Quinton to be twiddling his thumbs in a corner as NFH tries to recover. He comes up with a new plan to stick his head in the lion’s mouth on Tuesday 11 December. “There is a thin line between bravery and stupidity and I think that he is riding that line. He is not just putting his own life on the line but that of his family if the bad guys find out what he is doing. It would be a domino effect of people’s lives being destroyed,” warns Brighton.