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Many people call Celeste Ntuli the “Queen of isiZulu Comedy.” With a career that has been going on for almost 20 years, she first played for a conservative crowd in 2005 when she was asked to play at her local church. Ntuli is also an actress. She played Siphokazi “MaZungu” Zungu on Isibaya and the main character in the Netflix original movie Looking for Love.
However, in the past year, Ntuli has fully returned to comedy following the pandemic and its restrictions. Moreover, she has become an inspiration to many women who are not the “standard” in South Africa. As such, Ntuli spoke to ZAlebs on embracing her 40s recently, being touted as an “activist” and what she is looking forward to in the future, among other funny and impactful pearls of wisdom.
In August 2022, Ntuli celebrated another year as she came to terms with being in her forties. As such, the comedian expressed what era she believes she is in by sharing that, “I am starting my don’t care years.” Adding that, “I’m in an acceptance era. I’m on a healing era, on a personal level. Uhm, and in the comedy space, I’m in my expanding era…”
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As Ntuli has done a lot of press for her projects, she has made it clear that she is a black, fat woman.
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A stance which when asked which one she is first, she explained that, “Well, I am all of it. Why should we divide it? They all describe me.”
A feeling that has led many people to think that Ntuli should be called an activist because of how outspoken she has been about how these bodies are represented. But when she was asked if she thought she was an activist, Ntuli made her position clear by saying: “I consider myself to be a human being. I think we put too many labels ‘cause we have been living such a lie. You tell one truth [then] you are an activist. I am not an activist. There are things I am still doing wrong in life, there are things that I am doing right in life. But, am I honest most of the time, “yes,” cause I love [being] honest…”
Whether or not Ntuli thinks of herself as an activist, her views on issues got her a spot on the first episode of Black Conversations, which aired on Mzansi Magic at 21:30 on Thursday, October 20, 2022.
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It is a four-part docuseries in which notable South African media personalities and thought leaders discuss various topics related to “blackness.”
The four-part series is supported by Castle Milk Stout, the series’ main producer, as part of its rebranding of the popular black beer aimed at emphasizing that blackness is not to be feared, but savoured.
