‘This should be illegal’: Mboweni slams viral photoshopped meme

08 March 2022 - 11:30
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Former minister Tito Mboweni slammed a viral meme in which he appears chubbier. File photo.
Former minister Tito Mboweni slammed a viral meme in which he appears chubbier. File photo.
Image: ESA ALEXANDER/SUNDAY TIMES

Former finance minister Tito Mboweni has slammed a viral photoshopped picture of himself, saying such edits should be illegal. 

The chubbier version of Mboweni drew comparisons with the fictional character the Nutty Professor.

Mboweni, who is usually a great sport when it comes to reacting to jokes about his cooking skills, took aim at the picture.

“Photoshopping people’s pictures, distorting them should be illegal. This is not me.” he said. 

In a separate post, Mboweni shared a picture of himself alongside a photoshopped picture of President Cyril Ramaphosa with the caption: “In difficult and challenging times, it is good to have a moment of laughter.”

Last year, at the height of the FaceApp buzz, Mboweni, transport minister Fikile Mbalula, One SA Movement leader Mmusi Maimane, EFF leader Julius Malema, former president Jacob Zuma and Ramaphosa were made “younger”, courtesy of the app.

The app allows users to change their faces, making themselves appear older or younger.

Users can also edit their makeup, change their hair colour and even give themselves facial features such as a beard and different eyebrows.

Mbalula joked that the app takes you from a mom’s crush to a sister’s obsession.

“From icrush kaMama wakho to ekaSisi wakho. What is this witchcraft I see?” he said.


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