'AKA's voice convinced me to take the hot seat' says Pearl Thusi on her roast special

Pearl Thusi initially turned down taking the hot seat in the Roast of Pearl Thusi, but changed her mind when she realised that her decision was based on fear and anxiety. 

She will follow in the footsteps of Kenny Kunene, Somizi Mhlongo, AKA (real name Kiernan Forbes) and Khanyi Mbau.

Thusi told Sowetan SMag that an internal dialogue with late rapper AKA, who was the focus of the Comedy Central Roast of AKA in 2019, made her decision easier.

The 36-year-old actor remembered how she went through similar emotional turmoil when she made history as the first black woman to be “roastmaster” five years ago – after AKA convinced her to do it.

“I wasn’t in a good place when the producers asked me. As you’ve seen on my reality show [The Real Black Pearl], I’ve been on a healing journey. I’ve done a lot of self-reflection and growth. I’ve been through a lot and had to live with the misconceptions that a lot of people take as facts,” she said. 

“While pacing back and forth, thinking about what decision to take, I suddenly heard Kiernan's voice saying to me: ‘What are you scared of? We’ve done this before. Am I going to have to bully you into doing the roast again the same way I did the first time?’ After hearing his voice I had flashbacks on whether I regretted doing his roast five years ago and I didn’t.”

Phat Joe, Donald, Zee Nxumalo, Zodwa Wabantu, Randall Abrahams, Busiswa and Farieda “Pharoahfi” Metsileng will be on the roast panel when it's pre-recorded at The Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City, on Thursday. It will air on December 8 on Comedy Central. Touching on her reservations, Thusi said she was only scared of two people on the panel, but remained mum about who they were.

“My friends usually roast me and I also roast myself for all the life decisions I’ve made. I am my harshest critic, so mentally, I would say, I’m ready for what’s about to come regarding the roast. But I’m just glad that for once, I’ll get to live out of my head and celebrate, and laugh with everyone,” she said.

What topic is off the table?

“My kids receive mental health support. But they are off the table, especially if it’s a joke that will affect them negatively. I love comedy but it needs to be done in the right way,” she said.

“Thando is 17 years old, she’s about to live her life soon. Two years ago, I decided to spend as much time as I could with her hence I didn't do any international work. I know once she's done with matric, my little girl will start to live her own life without me.”

Thusi has made a big mark in both the local and global acting market having starred in Quantico, Kalushi and Queen Sono. After a three-year acting hiatus, she recently returned with a leading role as Onajite Johnson-Ibrahim on Apple TV's short film, Her Perfect Life. Thusi said even after such an illustrious career, she still struggled to shake off the “It girl” tag that has followed her throughout. 

“What hurts about the 'It girl' phrase is that I never asked for it. It was an existing label in an existing environment that I happened to work in. One could even say this is why I became rebellious at some point in my career,” she said.

“More than anything else, that 'It girl' effect restricted me from reaching my potential. I look at the young kids today and I wish I was in the industry they're in.”