Mzansi singer and actress Nirvana Nokwe became the unexpected face of a viral moment after her niece created a strikingly realistic AI-generated photo of her standing next to Beyoncé.
Shared on X (formerly Twitter) on September 16, the image spread like wildfire. It pulled in over 231,000 views and thousands of likes. So real was the photo that fans and even some journalists believed Nokwe had actually met Queen Bey, with interview requests flooding her inbox.
But the Johannesburg-born star, whose creative roots trace back to KwaMashu and Lamontville, quickly set the record straight.
Unexpected response to the picture
“I’m getting news article interview requests on how I met Beyoncé 😭😂. Haibo guys, this is AI,” she tweeted. She revealed that her niece had sent the picture to their family group chat as a playful prank.
“When my niece sent this pic to me, I jumped! Then I remembered wait, this has never happened!” she added.
While many fans praised her niece’s creativity (“Your niece needs an award!” one follower wrote), others accused Nokwe of misleading people by not labelling the picture as AI from the start. She responded that it was “harmless fun” and admitted she hadn’t expected the image to blow up the way it did.
A devoted Beyoncé fan who has often tweeted about her dream of meeting the superstar, Nokwe joked that the AI picture almost made her believe her fantasy had come true.
AI’s growing role in entertainment
Beyond the humour, the viral moment also sparked a deeper conversation about AI’s growing role in entertainment and the importance of digital literacy in South Africa’s online culture. For Nokwe, it became less about the criticism and more about celebrating her niece’s ingenuity.
The daughter of a renowned creative family that founded the Amajika Youth and Children Arts organisation, and mentored by her aunt, a former Mango Groove member, Nokwe has been steadily building her brand through music, acting (in shows like Outlaws and Red Ink), and advocacy for better industry conditions.
