South African ‘Lion King’ actor denies meeting Meghan Markle at London premiere

Meghan Markle’s recent interview has sparked a debate online after she claimed that an unnamed South African actor compared her to Nelson Mandela at the Lion King London premiere.

The only South African actor on the cast of the Lion King has rebutted Markle’s controversial claims, who, in her latest interview said that she was told people in South Africa “rejoiced in the streets” over her marriage to the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry.

Dr. John Kani, who voiced Rafiki in the Disney film, has now claimed that he was the only South African actor in the production, and also said that he had never met the Duchess and did not attend the UK premiere.

Speaking to MailOnline, the Royal Shakespeare Company veteran revealed that Meghan’s 2018 wedding to Harry was “no big deal” in South Africa, noting, “I cannot even tell you now what month she married or what year”.

Dr Kani said that Meghan’s comments “seem like something of a faux pas by her”, adding that “it just may be a misremembering on her side”.

“We had no South African link to the wedding or to her marrying Harry,” he continued. “I am truly surprised by this. For me, it is a non-event, the whole thing.”

The MP and tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council also said. “Nelson Mandela’s release from jail was the culmination of nearly 350 years of struggle in which generations of our people paid with their lives.

“It can never be compared to the celebration of someone’s wedding,” he added.

In a recent profile piece, the Duchess of Sussex, 41, told The Cut magazine that an unnamed South African actor made the surprise proclamation during the 2019 film’s London premiere.

“He looked at me, and he’s just like light,” Meghan recalled. “‘I just need you to know: When you married into[the royal family], we rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison’.”