What a weekend for the world of entertainment!

Twitter and Instagram were certainly alive as we saw South African entertainment royalty strut their stuff on the red carpet in beautiful gowns and suits (without masks). It really felt like we were getting back to our old normal again. 

The DStv Mzansi Viewers Choice Awards, an award show where South Africans vote for their favourite entertainment personalities, took place on Saturday at the Sun Arena in Pretoria. 

There were many deserving people who entertained us throughout the year, but the star of the night was Makhadzi. She makes amapiano and gospel music in her mother tongue, Tshivenda, and took two awards home for the favourite artist as well as song of the year for her hit song Ghanama. It was a full-circle moment for her as she recalled how she once begged the organisers of the DStv Mzansi Viewers Choice Awards to perform for free, and there she was this weekend receiving an award. 👏👏👏

Actress and producer Connie Ferguson won the award for favourite personality and she dedicated the award to her late husband, Shona Ferguson. The Fergusons were SA’s entertainment power couple who produced successful shows like The Queen on Mzansi Magic and Rockville. 

In other entertainment news from the US, the BET awards took place on Sunday night. These awards celebrate the crème de la crème in music, culture and sports among African Americans. 

The biggest winners were the Leave the Door Open duo, Silk Sonic – accomplished musos Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak’s newish R&B group. 

Many of the stars used that platform to raise awareness about Roe vs Wade. Actress Taraji P Henson, who was the host, made a powerful statement: “Guns have more rights than a woman. It’s a sad day in America. A weapon that can take lives has more power than a woman who can give life if she chooses to.”

On the streaming front, alternative superhero hit The Umbrella Academy returned to Netflix recently for its third season but the story of a dysfunctional family trying to stop the end of the world wasn’t as exciting or interesting this time around. On the big screen, the mega indie-hit Everything Everywhere All at Once is still going strong. The crazy and wondrous tale of an ageing Chinese immigrant who is swept up in a universe-hopping adventure is incredibly poignant and worth a watch if you haven’t seen it yet.