Lindo Buthelezi, the man behind the camera of the shocking video that circulated the internet, says it was all a PR stunt to try and break the internet.
If you were not shocked by the video of the homeless man being humiliated on Durban beachfront then you might be as shocked by the excuse made by the man filming it.
According to an interview in Times Live, Lindo Buthelezi confirmed that he was, in fact, trying to highlight the drastic poverty and race issues in South Africa and was using the video as a way to “break the internet”.
As we discussed in the previous post about this video, South Africans were not impressed by the the incident at all and what Lindo says was a “hope to start a conversation”, has turned into a nightmare for him.
“White people need to face reality and get to know us without them feeling superior. Poverty is real and can be addressed once the people who control the economy are exposed to it first hand. If the video upset you, I’m sorry for your wasted pain because that was not meant to hurt you but to make you conscious.”
“I love people and I work overtime to feed people, educate kids and I’m the only young businessmen who installed free internet for the poor in the community where I grew up.”
Since the interview, Lindo has removed his presence from the internet and locked down all his social media accounts. Whether this was in fact a real PR campaign or a slapstick attempt to cover up a big social media mistake, it isn’t going how Lindo planned.
It seems that the South Africa he thinks he is living in, is far different from the one he actually lives in. People have distanced themselves from the video and from Lindo stating that this is NOT what they approve of no matter the context. Having seen all the positive stories about how people feel about helping the homeless, we have hope for South Africa despite videos like this one and ones shared in the past.
Speaking to a source in Marketing, while it isn’t a rarity that sometimes agencies get it wrong, you almost never see the head of an agency going out to execute a “campaign”. We can’t help but feel that this is all a cover up for a big mistake but we know that big lessons come from big mistakes.
Question for all the clever PR & advertising folk (and all South Africans in the know)… do you think @Fameus_SA was executing a clever PR campaign when filming himself being racist to a homeless man or do you call BS?
Related Stories
— Brent Lindeque (@BrentLindeque) January 23, 2019
How Do We Keep Matric Dances Special Without Making Them So Expensive?
The Vlamo Video Was Horrifying. The Response Gives Us Hope!While we are not impressed by Lindo’s actions, we truly hope this serves as a lesson on how to be better. We must be better!
Some of our best stories come from when people help the homeless. While the search is still on for the man in the video, here is an amazing story about how two men helped a homeless person (one that might inspire you to help those around you too).
If you want to do more, here is a list of homeless shelters across South Africa that could always use some help. We update it constantly so please let us know about homeless shelters in your area.
The fact remains that South Africans are inherently good, and want to do good things, and as one of our readers said, “Ubuntu” doesn’t know colour” – Lebo Lechela.
by 
