Celebrity blogger Musa Khawula has once again found himself embroiled in controversy.
The controversial “Pope of Pop Culture,” who recently apologized publicly to businessman Groovin Nchabeleng, is now involved in a defamation battle with actress and influencer Lerato Nxumalo.
Through her lawyers at Nuñez Attorneys Inc., the former Scandal! and Durban Gen star has sent a demand letter accusing Khawula of publishing a “false, defamatory, and privacy-invading” post that incorrectly identified a Swedish man named Tobias Pettersson as her spouse.
Nxumalo, who married in secret in September, has made it clear that she is not going to take this one lightly.
On October 15, Khawula dropped a “breaking” post to his 250 000-plus followers on X (formerly Twitter), claiming to have unmasked Nxumalo’s secret spouse.
“I found out who the man is,” he bragged, attaching a photo of Pettersson.
Within hours, social media sleuths went wild, flooding the man’s Instagram with messages and friend requests.
Two days later, Nxumalo hit back: “We are not taking this lightly,” she wrote on Instagram, calling out the blogger for violating her privacy and dragging her family into the chaos.
Fans rallied behind her with heart emojis and “slay queen” comments, while others criticised Khawula for what they called “digital harassment”.
Cease-and-desist letter
On Tuesday, Nxumalo’s lawyers sent Khawula a formal cease-and-desist letter, demanding that he delete all related posts across his platforms within 24 hours.
In addition, the letter cited the Protection from Harassment Act (2011) and the Protection of Personal Information Act, threatening severe repercussions if he did not comply, such as a 72-hour public apology, defamation litigation, and potential fines or jail time.
Khawula responded in a defiant manner by reposting the letter on his X timeline, thereby transforming the legal notice into content specifically for his followers.
“Lerato Nxumalo had sent a letter of demand through her lawyers,” he captioned, sparking another round of divided opinions.
Nxumalo later disclosed that Pettersson received an unwelcome spike in attention as a result of Khawula’s post.
“He’s being bombarded by strangers online,” she vented in a follow-up post.
String of legal battles
The actress, who has consistently maintained her privacy in her personal life, expressed that the incident transcended from mere gossip to actual harassment.
For Khawula, this is yet another entry in a growing list of legal battles.
Earlier in October, he publicly apologised to Connie Ferguson and Groovin Nchabeleng after falsely linking them romantically.
In 2024, he faced cyberbullying charges and multiple bail denials. Even a short stint behind bars has not slowed him down.
As of this week, Khawula is yet to remove Nxumalo’s post.
