Rami Chuene hits back at critical pastor: 'He needs to relax a bit'

Rami Chuene, who plays Gracious on The Queen has spoken out against the criticism she got from a man of the cloth for always quoting bible scriptures.

Earlier this year Abraham Sibiya‚ the Archbishop Elect of The International Anglican Orthodox Episcopal Communion took to Facebook to slam the way Rami's character always uses 'God's word' in her dialogue.

"I wish to express my strongest objection in the direction that The Queen has taken with the introduction of the character of Gracious Mabuza. While the person, Rami Chuene, is a great actor and does an amazing job in portraying the character of Gracious Mabuza‚ the manner in which the name of God‚ the Bible and Christian practices are portrayed‚ leaves much to be desired and a bad after taste in the mouth. While it may seem that this practice adds some sensation to the story‚ it borders at ridiculing the name of the Lord our God," he wrote.

Although Rami asked her followers what they thought when the issue first came to light, she told the panel of presenters on Trending SA  that she was surprised by the criticism.  

"I was like 'Bishop, what is up with that? No, Bishop needed to relax a bit'," she said in response to a question about the incident.

Rami said she did not respond to the archbishop directly but thinks he might have met with her family to discuss it.

"I just let him fry, but I think he had a conversation with my parents."

Rami said she was not upset by the incident but saw it as a sign that she was playing her character well.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE when she first joined the soapie last year, Rami said the character would ruffle feathers.

"The followers will have a difficult time deciding whether to love or hate her. Everything she does is justified well, according to her! I’m confused myself! As a hardcore fan I don’t know if I’ll love her or not. I personally distance myself from the character and will be tweeting commentary that is honest and fair as I watch with Twitter," she said.

Rami scooped a role on the show after starting a social media challenge to have a role written for her as Brutus's wife (character played by Themba Ndaba).