Dear Ms Toni Braxton, management, security personnel, promoters and advisers
I find it amusing for lack of a better word that your loving Zimbabwe. Exactly what about Zimbabwe are you loving ??? You didn’t make the trip to Victoria Falls, your press conference, nor did you show up for the welcome party that was hosted and set out for you last night and you had grown men and women sitting in anticipation until midnight and there was not a sign of you…I am assuming your non appearance is due to perhaps security concerns? I ask myself what security concerns are these exactly ? correct me if i am wrong but just yesterday in your home country 2 journalists were fatally shot in a newsroom LIVE on television .. and your country is apparently the land of the free and the home of the brave.. security issues are only relative and truth be told if i was asked to chose between Zimbabwe and America i would chose Zimbabwe any day (in terms of security among other things)…
Since the announcement of your show, men and women alike have been prepping themselves for the event, reminiscing on the good old days (your followers are roughly 29 years old and above), praying that you will perform their favorite songs, changing ring tones on their phones, re-budgeting their finances and plans all for YOU…
Contrary to the pomp and fanfare that has been displayed for you Zimbabweans are struggling financially you will find that the demographic of fans that love and follow you belong to our non existent middle class and earn between 150 and 500 USD a month … if we then correlate this with the shows ticket prices you will firstly see just how unfair the ticket pricing is but it will hopefully give you and your team a greater appreciation of the SACRIFICE that so many are willing to undertake all because they love you and we were looking forward to something other than reggae or dancehall on our shores. Keep in mind too that a ticket alone means one has to come with a partner, then the infamous “outfit and hair prep”, then the fact that your show has come at the end of the month when rent, bills, school fees (in a week ) are due yet I reiterate we were willing to go the extra mile because we love you.. so i ask again ,, what sacrifice have you made for us?
What about Zimbabwe do you love when we haven’t seen you and your holed up in a 5 star hotel that is not reflective of our circumstances Instead you will return home with our hard earned money, maybe (probably not ) take one or two photos with the locals and then you are off and your visit to Zimbabwe will be done with. We are Afrikans we are proud of it and in Afrikan culture we believe in UBUNTU/HUNHU where we are all one and we can share, celebrate, love as one … I am disappointed not necessarily with you but with the whole team for not extending that hospitality to us. Perhaps you have reasons for not coming out but for that i will not use my money to attend your show but i will probably now pay my bills I was willing to sacrifice .
Saddest thing is your are competing against an Afrikan artist that so many people are also looking forward to seeing too. I will always respect you as an artist and yes my all time favorite playlist includes your songs too but on this one my patriotism and pride have taken the better of me .. with that said enjoy your stay in Zimbabwe well whatever that may mean for you ..between Meikles and Borrowdale road i’m sure you you will see a lot…#you are who you are because of the PEOPLE, once you let them down you lose a lot more than monetary gain
Kiri Achihera
Photo credit: www.capetalk.co.za
Sifanele / August 28, 2015
You can’t organise a concert with South Africans and they don’t take over the Zim organiser has no say at all
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ToniBraxton / August 29, 2015
http://rustygate.org/open-letter-to-open-letter-to-toni-braxton/#comment-35676
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Joe Black / August 29, 2015
Open Letter to Open Letter to Toni Braxton
This was a twitter rant, but I may as well write it all down here for my Facebook Philistines.
I had no choice but to respond to mass stupidity regarding the upcoming Toni Braxton and Babyface show.
First of all, Victoria Falls.
Nobody is obliged to come to Zimbabwe and visit the “majestic” Victoria Falls.
It’s really just a wall of falling water – don’t assume that Toni Braxton gives a fuck about it.
Let’s be honest, you don’t want Toni Braxton to SEE the Victoria Falls; you want her to BE SEEN at Victoria Falls, and take photos there, and tweet about how majestic they are.
If you love the Falls so much, YOU go there and take photos and market the destination. Nobody else is forced to.
She didn’t make it to “her” press conference, huh? Did she say she would? Or did her promoter say she would?
Have you seen her contract? Did it include any press availability? If it did, and she didn’t bother to show, then surely her promoter can take a legal route with her management and sort that out.
Face it, a press conference is a marketing tool. Does she need to market this show? Does she need to smile at you press monkeys and charm you so you can go write glowing tributes about her forthcoming show?
This is not Paul Two or P Square or whatever they’re called who need to go to every radio station in Harare, touting their show at the Summer Beer Festival and begging fans to turn out in their numbers.
We are too used to seeing artists running around doing all this press and marketing for free because they need numbers. Well, guess what?
This is Toni Fucking Braxton, multi-Grammy winner and Queen of Everything Beautiful For Years and Years.
As for this “Welcome Party” I’m sure the grown men and women who sat around just praying to see Toni Braxton had better things to do with their time, otherwise they’re not really that “grown” are they?
Do you know that big celebs are actually paid to show up at events? Why don’t you ask Uebert Angel, who paid people to mumble birthday messages into cameras for him? They don’t just show up for fuck-all. You got duped. Take it up with whoever promoted that party.
Security concerns is a straw man, so I can’t be arsed to reply to “… I am assuming your non appearance is due to perhaps security concerns?” because that’s just someone’s imagination working overtime.
As for ticket prices and poverty, you don’t see me crying outside ZIMOCO bitching and whining because I can’t afford a Benz. There are financial lanes, and we all should stay in them.
I personally couldn’t afford a ticket to the Toni Braxton show. If you can’t afford one, go see Alicky Macheso at Pamuzinda, or one of the 47 Chimbetu brothers around. It is allowed. Let your wallet be your guide.
Apparently, Steward Bank organised some business dinner for her, with Walter Mzembi and the SA Ambassador. And she “snubbed” it.
Hahahaha.
Again, was she paid? If she wasn’t paid to appear, then there’s no point. She still has choices, right?
If this meeting or dinner was scheduled with her directly, and she was paid for it, then I’m sure her promoter will sue her for it for breaching her contract and whoever paid her for her appearance will sue to get their money back.
Otherwise, remember, she doesn’t owe you shit.
Toni Braxton doesn’t have to walk around the flea market or stand in the sunroof of a Hummer driving down Samora Machel and hooting for her to do what she came here to do.
If you’re holding a ticket to the Toni Braxton and Babyface show, then she owes you a show.
Otherwise, she doesn’t really owe you anything else.
If she chooses to remain holed up on the top floor of a 5-star hotel while preparing for her show, that is her choice.
Next thing you’re gonna be blaming her for job losses in Zimbabwe.
Grow the fuck up.
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