Sophie Ndaba slams 'horrible' death hoax
"We are also human beings. If you prick me‚ I will feel pain," says Sophie Ndaba.
Sophie Ndaba-Lichaba's fans were beside themselves with grief this week when news surfaced online that the actress had died from an "illness".
The story wasn't hard to believe as Sophie made headlines in September after social media users expressed concerns about her dramatic weight-loss.
Why does she look so thin? Does she have a terminal illness? These were just some of the questions that were asked when this picture of Sophie which went viral.
Sophie Ndaba aka Queen Moroka
— DeejayCappuccino (@_DJCappuccino) September 28, 2018
Very thin blanket... pic.twitter.com/sWGwKO08M6
Sophie explained shortly after the image surfaced that she has diabetes.
"Living with diabetes doesn't mean my life must stop. It means I will fight to live and encourage those who already are suffering from this deadly disease. I started my weight loss journey because I was obese and it affected my health. I made a confident choice to start eating well and lose weight," she wrote on Instagram.
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News of Sophie's death was a trending topic on Twitter this week, with her fans desperate for answers.
"Someone please tell me Sophie Ndaba is not dead." one tweep wrote.
Someone please tell me Sophie Ndaba is not dead.
— EAST ATLANTA LOVE LETTER (@DeExceptional) October 30, 2018
Some people thought the story was true due to unsubtantiated claims that SABC's 'Expresso' breakfast show allegedly confirmed the news.
Bathong is #Expresso not going to comment on #SophieNdaba? Heh they started pic.twitter.com/6iEGsT0yLF
— Please RT pinned tweet (@Miss_Black1) October 30, 2018
But that turned out to be false as well, with the show distancing itself from the claims.
The rumours about Sophie Ndaba's death is false and we did not report on any news about her on the show today 🙏 #ExpressoShow
— Expresso Show (@expressoshow) October 30, 2018
The actress has described the rumours as "horrible".
Speaking to SowetanLive, the 46-year-old says she was in a meeting with her phone on silent when the story trended.
"My son who was at school at the time tried to call me but couldn't get a hold of me. Do people who start these rumours even think about what it does to our children or that parents can end up having a heart attack?" she told the publication.
The former 'Generations' star says that instead of focusing on real issues like people who are dying of depression, cancer and HIV, South Africans are starting horrible jokes.
She added that she is human like everyone else and is tired of all the "ridiculous" stories that have been spread about her over the past few months.
"We are also human beings. If you prick me‚ I will feel pain. We have lives‚ hearts and families and we feel pain."
The year is 2018. The mentally disturbed masses are still lying about the death of people in the public domain. Will it ever end? We'll never know. 😔 Will they ever change? I doubt it. 😑
— Sophie Ndaba (@SophieNdaba) October 30, 2018