‘TIS the season for weight loss as the battle to shed the festive bulge ensues. Gullible weight watchers have also fallen victim to a false advert for a product called Garcinia Cambogia which claims that former Miss SA and businesswoman Basetsana Kumalo lost about 9kg in a month using the product.
The advert, that has popped up online recently, has left Kumalo unimpressed.
She feels violated after her image was used to promote a programme she didn’t endorse.
In a strongly worded statement, Kumalo distanced herself from the advert.
“Firstly, I have never heard of this product, nor have I ever used it. I am not part of its endorsement or promotion. This is a hoax and a scam to lure the public into buying this product. It has further been brought to my attention that because of Khensani supposedly revealing ‘my secret’ we now have an Instagram war going on and I am ‘lashing’ out at her.
“I would like to explicitly say that Khensani is not involved in any of this. This is also a fabricated lie devoid of any truth. Khensani and I have known each other for many years and hold each other in high esteem as friends, businesswomen and mothers.”
Speaking to Daily Dispatch’s sister paper Sowetan this week, Kumalo was at pains to set the record straight.
“There are many young women who see me as a role model and may want to use this product. Who knows what damage they may be inflicting upon themselves?”
In fact, in 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to stop the use of weight-loss products that contained Garcinia Cambogia because some people taking it got serious liver problems.
Kumalo said she was told by a friend at church on Sunday of the advert.
The friend sent a screen grab of the promotion purporting that Kumalo was spotted at the airport dropping a bottle of the product and was seen strutting her stuff on the beach in a bikini. It also carried three photos to demonstrate the alleged dramatic weight loss.
“I was gobsmacked. I immediately got my IT guys to get to the bottom of it. They have contacted Facebook to alert them,” she said. “They have used photos from my Destiny magazine cover in January last year out of context to confuse people .”
Kumalo, a mother of three, gave birth to her last-born daughter, Bontle, five months ago. She said she was still on a journey to lose her baby weight with the help of a personal trainer.
“I work out at gym ... I do boxing, sprinting, swimming, a lot of cardio – including treadmill and weights – and I eat right. I am breast-feeding, I wouldn’t be taking these substances. I am concerned that people may want to go buy this product.”
Kumalo had a message for women desperate to lose weight.
“I wouldn’t endorse a product like that because there are no shortcuts. It’s all hard work, cut out the carbs and eat right. There is no miracle pill you can pop. I need to live long and raise my kids. And you don’t know what they put in these things.”
Kumalo fuming over false advert
The advert, that has popped up online recently, has left Kumalo unimpressed.
She feels violated after her image was used to promote a programme she didn’t endorse.
In a strongly worded statement, Kumalo distanced herself from the advert.
“Firstly, I have never heard of this product, nor have I ever used it. I am not part of its endorsement or promotion. This is a hoax and a scam to lure the public into buying this product. It has further been brought to my attention that because of Khensani supposedly revealing ‘my secret’ we now have an Instagram war going on and I am ‘lashing’ out at her.
“I would like to explicitly say that Khensani is not involved in any of this. This is also a fabricated lie devoid of any truth. Khensani and I have known each other for many years and hold each other in high esteem as friends, businesswomen and mothers.”
Speaking to Daily Dispatch’s sister paper Sowetan this week, Kumalo was at pains to set the record straight.
“There are many young women who see me as a role model and may want to use this product. Who knows what damage they may be inflicting upon themselves?”
In fact, in 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to stop the use of weight-loss products that contained Garcinia Cambogia because some people taking it got serious liver problems.
Kumalo said she was told by a friend at church on Sunday of the advert.
The friend sent a screen grab of the promotion purporting that Kumalo was spotted at the airport dropping a bottle of the product and was seen strutting her stuff on the beach in a bikini. It also carried three photos to demonstrate the alleged dramatic weight loss.
“I was gobsmacked. I immediately got my IT guys to get to the bottom of it. They have contacted Facebook to alert them,” she said. “They have used photos from my Destiny magazine cover in January last year out of context to confuse people .”
Kumalo, a mother of three, gave birth to her last-born daughter, Bontle, five months ago. She said she was still on a journey to lose her baby weight with the help of a personal trainer.
“I work out at gym ... I do boxing, sprinting, swimming, a lot of cardio – including treadmill and weights – and I eat right. I am breast-feeding, I wouldn’t be taking these substances. I am concerned that people may want to go buy this product.”
Kumalo had a message for women desperate to lose weight.
“I wouldn’t endorse a product like that because there are no shortcuts. It’s all hard work, cut out the carbs and eat right. There is no miracle pill you can pop. I need to live long and raise my kids. And you don’t know what they put in these things.”
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