Kaunda Selisho

By Kaunda Selisho

Journalist


All eyes on Pearl Thusi as she goes on ‘national lunch date’

Pearl Thusi and Michael Bucwa went on their "national lunch date" on Saturday with a view on putting the spotlight on black owned businesses.


After years of asking any attractive woman linked to a trending topic out on a date, Micheal Bucwa seemed to finally make some headway with actress and media personality Pearl Thusi.

For days, Pearl has been hyping up the date which has been used as a platform to put the spotlight on black-owned South African businesses using the hashtag #NationalLunchDate.

“Hi @PearlThusi, May I take you out for lunch?” tweeted Bucwa on 25 January to which Pearl responded “Yes please. When?”

https://twitter.com/PearlThusi/status/1486029430669594628?s=20&t=ef1iHjtLznn7CtbyeONWvQ

Fans were astonished that Bucwa had finally succeeded and interest in the date quickly grew.

Bucwa is also known as Mr. Smeg due to his insistence on including a kettle and other appliances from the high-end Italian kitchen appliance brand in photos posted to his social media accounts.

While trying to iron out the details of their date, Pearl Thusi then proposed the idea of “supporting black” by going to Oskido’s Daruma restaurant.

https://twitter.com/PearlThusi/status/1486034479714029576?s=20&t=ef1iHjtLznn7CtbyeONWvQ
https://twitter.com/PearlThusi/status/1486318114723840003?s=20&t=ef1iHjtLznn7CtbyeONWvQ

While musing about what he would wear, Pearl declared she would wear items by local brands and from local designers.

https://twitter.com/PearlThusi/status/1486035910835773441?s=20&t=ef1iHjtLznn7CtbyeONWvQ
https://twitter.com/PearlThusi/status/1486037014210306050?s=20&t=ef1iHjtLznn7CtbyeONWvQ

The idea to support local businesses and entrepreneurs did not stop there. She also suggested hiring videographers to capture the entire thing which quickly snowballed into one big ad-campaign.

She also announced a compeition for her fans which would give them the opportunity to party with her and Bucwa after the lunch date at popular Soweto hotspot Konka.

The ‘national lunch date’ campaign also saw Bucwa score himself some free items from local brands.

https://twitter.com/PearlThusi/status/1486329254812000261?s=20&t=ef1iHjtLznn7CtbyeONWvQ

Due to the public attention, Bucwa found himself subject to bullying and a slew of negative comments which Pearl defended him from.

https://twitter.com/PearlThusi/status/1486352213253541893?s=20&t=ef1iHjtLznn7CtbyeONWvQ

As the days went buy, more sponsors came on board, including a Mercedes Benz dealership which offered transport to the pair.

At the time of writing, Pearl Thusi and Michael Bucwa were on their “national lunch date” with food prepared by Oskido himself.

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