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  • Phony Sign Language Interpreter From Mandela Funeral Cashes in on Fame

    The return anxiously awaited by...no one

    05.08.2014 | |

    Well, I can honestly say I never expected to see this dude again. Thamsanqa Jantjie made headlines last year, after he performed what can only be described as “sign language gibberish” at Nelson Mandela’s funeral. Standing mere feet away from President Obama, Jantjie made an absolute fool out of himself…and was later revealed to be a mentally unstable criminal with a long record that includes arson and murder.

    But all that’s not stopping Thamsanqa from mounting a comeback.

    Introducing his new video-sharing app! “Hi, I’m Thamsanqa Jantjie from Nelson Mandela’s funeral,” the infamous criminal says in the opening moments of his YouTube ad. You’ve got to hand it to him–it’s a fairly safe bet that no “celebrity” has ever identified himself as being known from a funeral before. I’m still trying to figure out why his head is superimposed on the body of the Old Spice spokesman, but I suppose it’s a fool errand to try and apply any level of common sense here..

    The app is called LiveLens, and the company’s spokesman, Max Bluvband, says he picked Jantjie in order to poke fun at the worst live performance in history. “Since LiveLens is an app that allows you easily to stream your ‘life moments’ live to all your friends and followers simultaneously from your mobile, we were seeking someone who was the worst presenter ever of live shows.” To that end, LiveLens has probably succeeded, though I’m sure Jantjie was paid an amount of money for his endorsement that would probably make most people cringe.

    I guess there isn’t a whole lot to say, except “Cigarettes share hand me the scissors.”


    Matt Fox

    Senior Editor

    Fox has history in broadcasting that spans two decades. From his early days as an FM host and club DJ in the mid-90′s to his later experiences in political talk radio, he has always had a knack for combining topical news with his love for popular culture. Those experiences culminated in his position as executive producer for several radio shows featured in the TALKERS Heavy 100. Originally from New York, Fox has made the great pilgrimage down to sunny south Florida.

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