Not so long ago at a press briefing, Helen Zille, the seasoned politician known for her fierce persona, let slip a charmingly clueless moment: she thought a Comedy Central Roast was an invitation to a Sunday lunch.
Now, as she gears up to be the main course at her own roast, Zille’s hilarious misunderstanding takes centre stage, revealing a softer, self-deprecating side to the woman who’s weathered countless political storms.
When Zille was first approached for the roast, she pictured a cosy meal, not a comedic firing squad.
Had no clue about a roast
“They said, ‘Do you want to do a roast?’ and I thought, ‘That’s like a Sunday lunch – sure!’” she recalled with a laugh. “It sounded like roast chicken. Only later did I realise it was something else entirely. But by then, I’d already said yes!”
Her sons were less enthusiastic, warning her about the brutal nature of a roast.
“They said, ‘Ma, do you even know what a roast is?’ ” I had to admit: “No, I don’t!” Zille shared. They sent her clips of past roasts, but the humour flew over her head.
“I couldn’t understand them. I didn’t know what was funny! And I thought, ‘I can never be like this – I don’t even get the jokes.’ ”
Despite her confusion, Zille’s sons eventually gave their blessing, albeit with a playful jab. “Well, ma, if you want to do mad things, go ahead.”
Beyond the formidable public image
Zille hopes her grandchildren, watching the Roast 15 or 30 years from now, will see beyond her formidable public image.
“I’d love for them to see that I never took myself too seriously,” she said.
“I have this image of being fierce and terrible, someone unable to take a joke, that’s not true. I want them to know the real me, all the different sides, especially that we need to laugh at ourselves.”
This desire to humanise herself drives Zille’s decision to step into the comedic crossfire. “Most people only know me through what critics say,” she noted.
“That’s a one-sided, warped picture. I want people to decide for themselves what kind of person I am.”
Remains unshaken
While most would quake at the thought of being roasted, Zille remains unshaken.
“I’ve been battered from every angle. Cancelled countless times,” she said, referencing her turbulent social media timeline.
“Some people need to be liked. I’ve gotten used to not being liked or at least not liked in the caricature version of me out there.”
Her nonchalant attitude stems from years of navigating public scrutiny. “What’s the worst that can happen? It’ll either be a success or a flop. So what? It’s not the end of the world.”
Zille is intrigued by the panel of roasters, a mix of provocative figures ready to spar.
“They’ve all made a mark on society. They’re good at what they do, and they can give and take a jab,” she said.
Ready for the unknown
However, she admitted to being stumped by two names: Mel Viljoen and Londie London from The Real Housewives.
“I don’t know if they’re from Desperate Housewives or The Real Housewives,” she confessed. “I know nothing about that world, so that’ll be new for me.”
Zille’s late mother, a constant supporter but fierce critic of her political career, looms large in her reflections.
“I don’t think I would’ve agreed to the Roast if my mother were alive,” she admitted.
“She suffered every time someone said something nasty about me. She’d say I was too sensitive for politics, but really, she was too sensitive for me to be in it.”
Zille is grateful her mother never faced the social media era.
Star-studded panel
“The worst things said about me were in newspapers back then. I don’t think she would’ve survived Twitter.”
On May 16, Zille will go toe-to-toe with a star-studded panel. It will include her political rival Patricia de Lille and former Comics Choice Comic of the Year Loyiso Gola. Also media personalities Bongani Bingwa, JJ Tabane and Rian van Heerden. Reality TV stars Londie London and Mel Viljoen. Musician Zwai Bala, and author, political commentator and lecturer Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh.
