MZANSI actress Dippy Padi is asking that people understand abomakhwapheni.
The actress said if people put themselves in the shoes of side chicks, they'd understand where they come from.
Dippy (31) from Roodepoort, Joburg currently plays a side chick on two shows, Adulting on Showmax and Netflix's Soon Comes Night.
She spoke to Daily Sun about her characters and said they have taught her a lot.
“I’ve enjoyed being South Africa’s side chick. It was a bit weird for me at first until I had a conversation with my director and he said I need to understand that I am representing other women who are currently going through this.
“I learnt about Palesa from Adulting and I started feeling compassion for her and I loved her. I understand that there are a lot of women like this. And you can only feel sorry for them. Personally, I didn’t like people like Palesa and that was based on experience and seeing what they did. I put myself in her shoes and understood her emotions and her back story,” she said.
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Dippy said she feels people will get to understand the reasoning behind being a side chick if they feel compassion for them instead of disgust.
“I think people need to put themselves in these women’s shoes. This is something I think most people have done with Palesa, but they don’t want to say it because it’s taboo. They think they will be attacked if they mention that they understand Palesa because you cannot be on the same side as a side chick, but it’s okay really,” she said.
The actress is also part of Netflix’s new series, Soon Comes Night.
“Pearl is a side chick as well. She is a rich slay queen from the 90s who always dresses well and looks good. She has everything she wants because of her boyfriend’s money.
“Soon Comes Night is a story about a man who went into exile and was a part of the struggle back in the 90s. When he comes back, he realises that things have changed and his decisions need to be different this time around. People who are now in power are corrupting the system and he is trying to go against that,” said Dippy.
