
By Zimkhitha27 October 2021
The River S4: Beauty’s jealousy exposes Dimpho’s fake influencer life
Being an influencer is the in thing these days. Taking well-curated images and videos and sharing them on social media for likes and comments has become a lucrative career, and everybody wants a piece of the pie. For the past few days, Dimpho on The River has been booked and busy, while collecting all the perks that come with being a social media star.
Brand alignment
Her alter ego, Duchess D, has gained her a huge following on the internet. What her fans didn’t know, however, was the fact that her entire online persona was built on a lie. She would post snaps and clips of herself giving off the impression that she was a wealthy young woman who had made it in life. That’s not all: the fake posts also came with a British accent. We guess that was just for ambience, right?
Dimpho’s rise to the top also meant that she had to stop associating herself with people like Beauty because she didn’t “match her brand”. Let’s be honest, what Duchess D is going through is nothing new. We’ve seen this a lot of times on social media both locally and internationally. Because of peer pressure and the fear of missing out, young people have put themselves in compromising situations all in the name of being famous and being validated by others.
Toast to the soft life
There was definitely a sense of validation after Duchess D finally received everything she had ever wanted, including a brand-new sponsored car. However, it didn’t look like she was enjoying her newfound fame because she could no longer live with her lies. And the fact that she and Beauty were not in a good space made her unhappy. Dimpho was also worried that people would expose her on social media.
“I’ve realised that Refilwe people are jealous, that’s why I got myself an apartment in the suburbs. And it’s fully furnished,” she told her friend Tshepiso, and they toasted to the soft life. But Dimpho’s success was short-lived. After Beauty discovered that Dimpho had bought an apartment, she shared a “how well do you know Duchess D” post on Twitter. “I know her personally, I made her. She’s not as rich and successful as she claims to be,” read one comment from a follower.
Duchess D gets cancelled
And just like that, Duchess D trended and her lies were exposed. She didn’t even get to spend a single night in her new apartment.
“People all over the world are talking about me. They’re laughing at me, from Sunnyside to Piet Retief. I just wanted a soft life,” she told Angelina. Dimpho struggled to accept that her fake life had been taken away from her.
Do you blame her, though? We’re certain that this phase won’t last forever. There will be a different trending topic on social media in no time! Rest, Duchess D.
Watch new episodes of The River, streaming express to Showmax.
The Mommy Club NBO, coming soon
The Chocolate Empire, now streaming
The best movies to stream

Movie fight club: Gladiator II and more intense punch-ups
For their Gladiator II fight to stand up to rhinos, sharks and sea battles, Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal had to do more than wave their swords at each other. We break it down along with 8 other films’ most intense punch-ups.

Frank Grillo takes on the Tulsa King
Frank Grillo and Sylvester Stallone go head to head as rival mob bosses in Tulsa King Season 2. And we rate 9 more Frank Grillo roles, from Boss Level to Billions.

Renée Zellweger chats about Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy
Renée Zellweger reveals why two men find 50-something widowed mom Bridget Jones simply irresistible – plus, we list 5 of our favourite romcom couples you can watch now.

Widow Clicquot and 10 more sparkling biopics: Life writes the plot
Get ready to pop the cork on some vintage storytelling with the tale of how Widow Clicquot revolutionised French wine-making, then check out our menu for 10 more sparkling movies about real people.