Actors and crew are once again left frustrated as they continue to go unpaid by Clive Morris Productions, while he apparently enjoys his time gallivanting overseas, according to ZiMoja.
In April, ZiMoja hilariously revealed that the hardworking cast and crew of Queendom, including the talented Linda Mtoba, Samkelo Ndlovu, Hamilton Dlamini, Siyabonga Twala, and Sindi Dlathu, were unfortunately left waiting for their well-deserved paychecks. Surprisingly, even the cast and crew of the new Showmax drama Empini faced the same unfortunate fate.
The cast of Queendom and Empini in salary drama
“Imagine watching yourself on screen while broke!’ two furious staff members said, adding that “Clive was in Greece and Spain and now he is in Israel with his family. Zero consideration about what our families are going through. In April, we ended up getting paid very late and we were up to our necks in debt by the time we received the money—debit orders late, insurance, life insurance, etc.’ An actor in one of the productions said, “We would understand If we had other streams of income, but how do we do that when we are always on set, and by the time we go home, we are exhausted?’In a text message seen by ZiMoja, sent to the WhatsApp group chat alleged ran by Clive, he wrote, “I understand that everyone is angry, and deservedly so. We have let you down and whatever the reason, doesn’t help to put things right or make you feel better. I am happy to take it on the chin and accept the rocks thrown at me,’ Clive said.
“What I can tell you is that we are not sitting on the money and deciding not to pay people, we are actively working non-stop to get the funding to pay everyone.’ He went on to say they are looking for the funds to pay staff. “We may have paid late in the past for various reasons out of our control, but we have never not paid anyone. Everyone will be paid, and we are asking for a little breathing room so we can focus on finding the funds as quickly as possible.’ZiMoja reached out to Monde Twala, the Senior Vice President & GM of Paramount Africa & Lead BET International, regarding the current broadcast of Queendom.”BET has recently been made aware of Clive Morris Productions’ delayed payments to the cast and crew of Queendom. We have engaged Clive Morris Productions to mitigate delayed payments to the esteemed cast and crew, and swiftly resolve this matter.”
It seems that executive producer Khayelihle Dominique Gumede is currently on sick leave, but they had previously informed ZiMoja that they were working on resolving their financial issues.
“It’s a cost timing issue but the production needs to just match expenses. We are in conversation with the client, and we are trying to communicate robustly. But there is also a sense that one is resolving the problem as easily as possible,” said Khayelihle.