Whirlwind, fast-pace and exhaustion: Lerai Rakoditsoe on her KCAs takeover

Mzansi starlet Lerai Rakoditsoe took over the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards (KCAs) at the weekend in Los Angeles, California, where Hollywood stars Charli D’Amelio, Kelly Rowland, Bebe Rexha, Halle Bailey and Heidi Klum stepped out.

The 18-year-old presenter reported live from the orange carpet, taking over the SMag Instagram page for the weekend, to offer an exclusive behind-the-scene look at her Hollywood adventures.

Big winners at the KCAs included Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, BTS, Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa. Rakoditsoe gives SMag a roundup of all the action:

How would you describe your first trip to America?
A whirlwind. It’s a mixture of fun, fast-pace and exhaustion. I got to visit the Nickelodeon animation studios. I got to watch animators animate SpongeBob live, as well as take over the Santa Monica Pier. I got an exclusive first peek and experience of the venue. There was so much to film and document. I was working from early morning to late at night and I still had crazy jet lag to deal with. I’ve never experienced anything like this before; however, I wouldn’t trade this feeling for anything.

How was it like being on the KCAs orange carpet?

One thing they don’t tell you about big events in Hollywood is just how fast they go. It started off slow and quiet and immediately became this frenzy of a place with some of the world's celebrated actors and musicians casually walking in and out of the designated area. As much as we prepared, I had to do a lot of "on-the-spot" thinking to make my interviews more creative. 

What was your most memorable moment on the orange carpet?

I had so many. Seeing Ms Kelly Rowland, I understand why South Africans love her so much. She just had a presence. Lil Uzi Vert coming on the carpet with an anime-looking hairstyle also did it for me, especially seeing him change it twice during the show, epic. Then teaching Tom Kenny (the voice of SpongeBob) as well as TikToker and entrepreneur Josh Richard words in isiZulu.

You got to fly the SA flag high, how did that make you feel?

It’s a role that I didn’t take lightly. From when we started pre-production for this a few months ago, I knew everything had to be a representation of our excellence. I worked really hard with our team at Nick Africa to make sure we created multiple pieces of content to share with our African audience and I’m confident we delivered on that. Creating fun, positive shows that inspires and ignites the light within children was our main goal, I’m honoured to have been the vessel through which so many people's works shone.

Tell us about your outfit at the awards?

The saying goes “If you look good, you feel good” right? Imprint ZA delivered on that 100%. I remember sitting down with Mzukisi Mbane [the label's designer] during our first consultation and telling him how I wanted to feel, I shared various style elements I was interested in and he created the magic that you saw me wearing on the carpet.

What is your biggest takeaway from this trip?

I was able to thoroughly appreciate my African heritage and identity. When interacting with many of the locals in LA (especially African Americans) and introducing myself and my role as the first face of Nick Africa to them, I was met with looks of astonishment and expressions of deep appreciation for the role I have taken up. They’re so proud to see this level of representation and that we are being afforded opportunities to shine our stars on platforms of the highest caliber.