3 boycotts that hit the entertainment world this year so far

Picking up where 2018 left off, 2019 has been a year of activism, when social media users have not been scared to boycott their faves.

Some of the biggest stars, including Michael Jackson and R Kelly have been dragged after explosive documentaries about their lives aired.

Locally, musician Mampintsha was slammed after a video of him hitting his girlfriend Babes Wodumo went viral in March.

Here's a closer look at the three movements to boycott the stars

#BoycottMampintsha

Mampintsha was released on R2,000 bail after being arrested on charges of assault following the release of a video, which showed him slapping Babes Wodumo several times. Mampintsha opened a counter charge of assault against Babes.

The video sparked outrage across Mzansi, leading to international DJs pledging to never play his music and music service apparently pulling his music.

Mampintsha's management fought the boycotts and managed to get an apology from Canadian DJ MC Bonde and said he intended to serve a letter of demand on iTunes for allegedly removing Mampintsha's music.

#MuteRKelly

Although allegations of sexual assault had long swirled around US star R Kelly, they once again exploded when the documentary Surviving R Kelly aired in February.

The series features over 50 interviews with women who allege to have been sexually and physically abused by the singer.

Amidst worldwide calls to boycott his music, local social media users called on the SABC to #MuteRKelly. Their cause was furthered when Metro FM ran a poll on whether they should remove his music from its playlists.

In response to these requests, the SABC told TshisaLIVE it would consider the several calls from fans but not formal announcement was made on the matter.

Several Mzansi celebrities including Manaka Ranaka, Kabomo and Pearl Thusi also called for the boycotting of all things Kelly in the wake of the documentary.

#MuteMichael

Radio stations in Australia, Canada and New Zealand all refused to play Michael Jackson's music in the wake of a documentary called Leaving Neverland that brought fresh child sex abuse allegations against the star.

The Jackson family slammed the documentary, insisting that those behind it are hoping to cash in on a dead person's legacy, reported CNN.

Locally the documentary made waves with similar calls on social media but SA radio stations did not announce any boycotts.