By Rorisang Modiba
- TV extras working on Mzansi Magic’s Co-Breezy show say they work long hours without food.
- Workers also worry about their safety while filming in Yeoville, saying there’s no security to protect them or their equipment.
Having successfully auditioned to be extras on a soon-to-be-aired television show has added an extra burden on the film workers: hunger and personal safety concerns.
“We spend all day here without food,” says an extra working on Co-Breezy, a new Mzansi Magic show filming in Yeoville, Johannesburg.
The show, a spin-off of The River starring Presley Chweneyagae, is being criticised by its extras, who say they’re going hungry despite working long hours.
“They get there early, even before some of the cast members,” a source told Zimoja. “Most days, they spend the whole day there and don’t get food.”
Workers also say they don’t feel safe on set.
“There’s no security whatsoever, and the staff’s lives are at risk. Equipment is not safe, and neither are we,” said the insider.
The source claims that nothing happens when they complain: “They just turn a blind eye to issues raised; they don’t fix anything, which is discouraging, and the staff don’t know what to do anymore.”
However, Mzansi Magic disagrees. Spokesperson Portia Hlongwane said: “We can confirm that there has never been an instance where extras have not been fed.”
She added that the abundance of food on set sometimes results in leftover food being donated to the community.
Pictured above: Mzansi Magic.
Source: Mzansi Magic/X
