SA Pushes Retail Brand To Drop Influencer for Promoting Russian Job: “Please Do the Right Thing”
- Siyamthanda Anita is facing backlash for advertising a Russian work-study programme aimed at young South African women
- Netizens are urging a major brand to end its partnership with Siyamthanda Anita for endorsing the Russian programme
- Her critics claim that it is not the first time Siyamthanda has endorsed a questionable initiative
Source: Instagram
The drama surrounding prominent content creator and brand influencer Siyamthanda Anita has taken a new twist, with South Africans now calling for a popular brand to sever ties with her.
Cyan Boujee and other influencers dominated social media trending charts after being called out for promoting an opportunity targeting young South African women. After the government confirmed that it had launched an investigation, several netizens escalated the situation and asked a major retail brand to end its association with Siyamthanda Anita.
Netizen calls on popular retail brand to end partnership with influencer
Social media user @Paballo_maseko_ took to X on Monday, 25 August 2025 and led the call for Takealot to drop Siyamthanda from their list of brand influencers.
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The social media user urged that Takealot should end its business relationship with Siyamthanda Anita. The social media user urged other South Africans to pile pressure on Takealot to drop Siyamthanda. The post was captioned:
“@TAKEALOT are you seriously gonna continue to affiliate yourself with an influencer who is constantly putting the lives of people in danger by promoting scams and human trafficking syndicates? Here’s the Takealot marketing email address: Marketing@takealot.com.”
See the post below:
In an earlier post, the social media user had suggested that the Russian programme wasn’t the first time Siyamthanda had endorsed a questionable initiative. The netizen predicted that Siyamthanda would not face any consequences for endorsing the Russian programme, but insisted that she should face some form of accountability. The post was captioned:
“I see people are forgiving these influencers as they all maintain they didn’t know, but Siyamthanda Anita is doing this for the second time. We know she’s not gonna get arrested anytime soon, but we need to make sure she suffers some consequences for her actions.”
How netizens reacted to calls for brand to drop Siyamthanda Anita
In the comments, several netizens expressed mixed reactions. While some backed the social media user, some suggested that people were overreacting.
Here are some of the reactions:
@ScottValavula argued:
“I don't just follow the crowd; these people could have been misled, and personally don't think they knew what the company was doing. Anyway, it's said that some have come back, let them tell the story.”
@dykezillaa said:
“@TAKEALOT by keeping her as an influencer, you're conceding to her ethics, meaning you support human trafficking.”
@Leanolarona_12 declared:
“We'll take our money to Amazon if they continue affiliating with such.”
@itsunclevibes asked:
“What is it with reputable South African brands associating themselves with brainless influencers? I bet all the marketing heads are males 🤔”
@sannie_mf urged:
“@TAKEALOT Please do the right thing and cancel these people.”
Source: Instagram
Seemah shares tender moment with another man
Meanwhile, Briefly News previously reported that Seemah trended on social media after sharing a tender moment with another man at the Durban July 2025 event.
Seemah, known for dating fellow content creator Ghost Hlubi, left social media buzzing after sharing a video with another man. She captioned the video with a playful caption that added to the speculation that there could be more than friendship between her and the mystery man.
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Source: Briefly News
