Eugene Khoza responds to claims of him disregarding Shebeshxt's success

Eugene Khoza has rejected claims that he discredits the success of rising stars from Limpopo. 

After the broadcast of SAMA29, the actor and comedian appeared on Podcast and Chill saying he believed the standard of the ceremony had dropped because internet celebrity Skomota was a talking point.

Eugene questioned Skomota's claim to fame and whether he deserved a platform at the SAMAs.

“The bar in South Africa seems too low. Because you watch what is supposed to be our premium music awards ... and the only thing people talk about is Kelly Khumalo swearing ... the other thing that trends is another guy wearing white pants dancing. What are we celebrating him for? Are we that country that celebrates mediocrity?”

Eugene said Shebeshxt had become a popular online sensation and artist despite admitting to crimes.

“A guy like Shebeshxt puts the reality of what South African youth look like in our faces ... you guys made us face what makes us uncomfortable because we don't want to face it anymore.”

Limpopo superstar Makhadzi has defended Skomota and Shebeshxt, saying Eugene is “anti-stars” from her hometown in deleted posts. 

While Skomota has remained silent on Eugene's views, Shebeshxt went live on Instagram, seemingly responding and speaking about the challenges he has faced in life.

“We've struggled in life. You talk now? Now that things are running smoothly you want to talk. The time you're wasting talking you could have been hustling. You just talk. Talk about me it makes no difference. I beg for you guys to talk about me,” he said. 

Eugene took to his timeline on Tuesday saying his words were taken out of context. 

“See this I'll respond to, context is important, if you listen to the full clip you'll realise what I said was not a diss but a big up to what he has done to bring himself up, his impact on the youth and how we continue to fail our own people as the black middle class,” he wrote in an X post.