Actress Vatiswa Ndara. File picture.
South African veteran actress and media personality Vatiswa Ndara will not be returning to the TV screens anytime soon, no matter how much her fans may miss her.
The 53-year-old award-winning star, who cemented her status over the decades in productions such as “Home Affairs”, “Generations” and “Salvation”, is regarded as one of the most talented actresses in Mzansi.
She was also a news reader news for radio stations such as Radio Transkei, Radio Bob, Kaya FM, Metro FM and 5FM.
But with almost five years away from the entertainment industry, Ndara is missed by many fans who took to social media to address her absence.
This included @ciasivan, who wrote on X: “We need to deal with whoever blacklisted Vathiswa Ndara, there’s no way they (are) still depriving her of work with all that talent.”
Ndara was blacklisted in 2019 by Ferguson Films after speaking about allegedly being underpaid, poor working conditions as well as demanding a pay increase.
“We work very long hours and most of the time, we don’t get paid what is due to us. In 2019, I am still being offered rates of 2005, so, for us, it is almost as if inflation and the cost of living, those things are not considered,” said Ndara at the time.
Following the incident, she stopped getting gigs, and while fans hoped that she would one day return, radio presenter Anele Mdoda recently said that she had tried to convince the beloved actress to return to the entertainment industry but she said that she wouldn’t budge.
“She left the industry. I called her and begged last year. She said not a chance. I won’t give up, though. That woman is talent,” Mdoda said.
While Ndara was well within her rights to voice her concerns and speak up for herself, many said she could have negotiated for better pay instead of throwing Ferguson Films under the bus like that.
They felt that, in doing so, she discouraged other production companies from hiring her as they probably feared that she could publicly speak up about them too, assuming she would be difficult to work with.
“Not that she was blacklisted. Remember, Fergusons doesn't own Showmax and Netflix, she can still get something. The problem is that other productions are already scared of hiring someone who speaks out, and demands a lot of money,” commented @keketso_P.
Ndara has deactivated her social media accounts and now lives a private life.
She has also not recently addressed her fan’s plea for her to return to acting.