SA is stunned as Mel Viljoen launches second BackaBuddy account for Peet's legal fees

• Former actress Mel Viljoen launched another crowdfunding account for her husband, Peet Viljoen, on Tuesday, 7 July 2026
• This comes after BackaBuddy removed the reality TV star's first crowdfunding account
• South Africans commented on the Viljoen's half a million crowdfunding account

Real Housewives of Pretoria star Mel Viljoen surprised South Africans on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, when she launched a second BackaBuddy account for her husband, Peet Viljoen's legal fees.

This comes after her first R500 000 BackaBuddy account was taken down, days after some of her fans donated R3500.

Mel's husband, Peet Viljoen, made headlines on 16 June 2026, when he was arrested at OR Tambo Airport hours after his release from a US prison.

Entertainment journalist Bianca Van Wyk shared on her X account on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, that Mrs Viljoen started another crowdfunding account.

"The tenacity of Mel Viljoen is next level. So she just started another BackaBuddy campaign 3 hours ago. I give up!" said Van Wyk.

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The second account states that Mel Viljoen is the organiser and reads: "I am Tammy Van Der Merwe. I started this fund to show Peet Viljoen our support."

South Africans react to the Viljoen's second account

@Mydali_Lebeko asked:

"Is she aware that her real name appears there?"

@melvanwykct asked:

"Who is Tammy van der Merwe?"

@BiancavanWyk16 replied:

"Mel Viljoen."

@Kearatiwa said:

"If only you could donate towards my wits R180 000 outstanding debt, guys, and leave Mel and her man."

@Lord_of_Wakanda responded:

"It looks like when a grift works, they keep doing it. Makes sense because one shopping bag of bottled water should not be R88k, so they've been stealing water for a while. So she will keep running this grift."

@youngjerk98 reacted:

"This one escaped Weskoppies."

@dima_onzima wrote:

"I bet she is saying, this is SA. People like me flourish."

@MaleteMokobane said:

"The quiet is too loud in the Afriforum camp. I thought this would be a worthy cause to take up."

@LuanaLouw reacted:

"I knew they would try to fraud their way back into Back-A-Buddy under a different name/cause. I just didn't expect her to be dumb enough to make it using the same account."

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@Karabzgirl said:

"They don't call her die hard for nothing; she wants to scam us by force."

@MrChaklas44 responded:

"I am happy that it was closed. Someone must be for the Madlanga Commission. The ANC will cut funds to them as soon as the heat gets to them."

@kirstblair replied:

"The desperation is palpable! So much for 'we've got millions in South Africa!'."

@winstonterrance wrote:

"Maybe she corrected the reasons on the first one, and now she came for the kill."

Peet Viljoen speaks about Mel Viljoen's release from prison

In more entertainment news, Briefly News previously reported that celebrity lawyer and podcaster Peet Viljoen recently discussed his wife, Mel Viljoen's release from the Aurora Detention Center on Thursday, 21 May 2026.

The pair made headlines in March 2026 when they were arrested for shoplifting from a store in America.

South Africans on social media were stunned by Mel's release from prison and commented on her relationship with Peet.

Source: Briefly News