LISTEN | KB on Lebo Mathosa biopic backlash: I wanted to tell her story not be her

Actress Keabetswe “KB” Motsilanyane is unfazed by all the hate around the decision to cast her as Lebo Mathosa in an upcoming biopic, telling TshisaLIVE that she is more focused on “telling” Lebo Mathosa's story than trying to “be” her.

LISTEN to what KB had to say: 

In commemoration of the 13th anniversary of Lebo's death, Dream: The Lebo Mathosa Story was launched on Wednesday night at Kramerville in Sandton.

Earlier this year South Africans went into a frenzy when auditions for the biopic were announced. It led to fans disagreeing as to who'd pull off the best version of Lebo with all the talent in Mzansi.

City Press reported last month that Bahumi and singer Kelly Khumalo were set to star on the project but producers announced last week that KB would play the older version of Lebo along with Bahumi, who would be the younger Lebo.

The news didn't sit well with many people who threw shade at KB and said she lacked the “energy” and “extraordinary personality” Lebo had.

In a sit-down interview with TshisaLIVE, KB explained that she was asked a couple of months ago if they could put her name down on the list of potentials who could play the role of the late icon.

“I then said, 'Do you think my name should be there?' and they said yeah, yeah, yeah. I then said, 'okay, great, put my name down'. But already I started to think, what is it that you are going to bring to this role? Because it is massive.”

KB said when she found out that at first she wasn't selected, she told her agent that whoever plays the role of Lebo must “kick a**".

“When I was later approached to play the role, I realised I was given a responsibility with something so precious and something that belongs to everybody and being entrusted with it. So, I'm honoured to play this role, I do it with the utmost respect. For me it's not just Lebo, she was a human being, she belongs to many people I haven't met in my life and they are going to watch this.”

KB was grateful to be on the set of a dynamic biopic and said she appreciated the opportunity given to her.  

“People think we get on set every day and [are] having a jol. No, we cry every day. We feel so burdened. No, we get it. I mean, if there was someone who could play this role and be Lebo Mathosa, we wouldn't have this day. We wouldn't need this biopic.”