The Real Reason Shona Ferguson Fired Himself From The Queen
When veteran actress, Mara Louw was on SABC 2’s soapie; Muvhango in 2003, she was earning R65 000 for her role. When she was ridiculed for demanding a “higher fee” on The Queen, Louw left the show, which apparently led to her being blacklisted and uncompensated by Ferguson’s Films.
When Vatiswa Ndara refused to return to Igazi because Ferguson Film’s offered her a “lower fee” of R120 000 the company ‘postponed’ shooting of Igazi. Although Sello Maake ka Ncube has not revealed the reasons for his departure from The Queen, one can only guess that it has everything to do with being burnt out and being undervalued as well.
So, over the years we’ve concluded that Ferguson Films can’t really afford the premium, veteran actors, yet they recently just bagged four A-list actors for their season five of The Queen. Hmmm…
How can they afford Rapulana Seiphemo, Menzi Ngubane, Jessica Nkosi, Brenda Ngxoli and Kenneth Nkosi at the same time? I won’t begin to mention Duma Ntando because she’s not in the same league or tax bracket as the above mentioned.
Before I discuss my theory, I did mention in my previous article that I truly believe that Shona Ferguson’s leaving of the show is purely a PR stunt. He had to end his role, so they can remain with a leg to stand on.
First of all Rapulana Seiphemo wouldn’t leave ‘Generations The Legacy’ for a lower salary scale of R70k to R120k. Menzi Ngubane’s earned around R50k to R100k on Isibaya, while Jessica Nkosi, Kenneth Nkosi and Brenda’s salary scale is around R30k to R70k. Despite the three actor’s salary scale being approximately on the same level, Brenda and Kenneth’s might be slightly lower than Jessica’s because they’ve been out of the game for a while. Brenda’s role on The River doesn’t count because she was a supporting actress and Duma Ntando is coming in cheaper because she doesn’t have as much experience as everyone else (mentioned).
So all these big names and where is the steep pocket coming from to pay them, the answer: Shona’s salary. He put himself on the chopping block, it’s like the game of Survivor; outwit, outplay and outlast. I don’t see any of these actors lasting that long on because let’s face it, besides their tainted image, the show has bigger fish to fry. The scriptwriters appear to have hit a writer’s block, since season two.
So, when Louw, Ndara and Maake wanted a raise, they apparently told them “we can’t increase your salary because we don’t have the funds or they’re too out of our budget” chances are, they probably just spurned them because no production company is doing that well during a pandemic.
