Almost a month ago, she opened up to ZiMoja about leaving her role as Lindiwe on the e-tv soapie, Scandal! to pursue greener pastures. Nomvelo Makhanya (26) who had been on Scandal! for 10 years said, she shot her last episode in August. "My last day was extremely emotional,' she said. "Simply because of the scenes, I was shooting, they were emotional but overall, it was an exciting day for me to welcome change.' Avoiding being seen as bitter, she was grateful for the 10 years. I am so grateful to have been privileged enough to work with giants in this industry. My on-screen mother and father, Gcinile Nkosi and Patrick Mofokeng, Ntate Jerry Mofokeng Wa Makhetha, Bongile Mantsai, Masasa Mbangeni, Sihle Ndaba. These are just to make a few of the great people I will miss I've learned so much from them. Every day on set was like a drama class, always something new to learn. "she told ZiMoja. ?

WORKING IN A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT?

But her tone has since changed. Taking to social media, the actress said in an Instagram Live that she was written off the script, it was not her decision to leave. "I've been the one catching all the smoke. It wasn't my choice, they wrote me off. I was thinking about it the other day. I'm tired of it being me. It wasn't me. The choice was not mine.' Nomvelo says she has however been praying about leaving the toxic environment. "I have been wanting to leave that place,' she says. "It's not a thing, it's something I had been praying about. God was removing me from that toxic environment.' Nomvelo says she almost died in that environment. "I almost died. I was going to leave in a casket. I was probably going to kill myself. There is an 80/90 percent chance. That's how toxic that place was. It wasn't nice. It really wasn't nice,' she adds.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Nomvelo joined Scandal! as Lindiwe, a young high school living at the Ngema home in Soweto who grew into a powerhouse businesswoman and nightclub owner. Lindiwe married Nhlamulo, played by Mathews Rantsoma. Through the years, she has faced her own trials and tribulations which ended in her onscreen death. Her last appearance was tear-jerking as she took her last breath after being diagnosed with a chronic illness. 

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SCANDAL! MANAGEMENT RESPONDS

The producers of Scandal! has since responded to the claims made by the former cast member, stating they were unaware that the workplace had become a toxic environment for the actor or any actor for that matter. "As a production, we've always communicated an open door policy for all our cast and crew for any matter or situation whether it being professional or personal. To our knowledge, as a production, we've had a great run of 10 years with the actor Nomvelo Makhanya and we appreciate the work she put in on her character as Lindiwe Maseko- Ngema," the statement reads. "The exit of the Lindiwe Maseko - Ngema character was purely dictated by the story, the character had run its course on the show, and therefore as the producers and writing team of the show, we ended the character journey to allow us opportunities to explore other avenues as storytellers. Ending characters is always bittersweet for us as a production, especially with an actor like Nomvelo Makhanya because she grew up in the show, but it also gives us the opportunity for new stories for the future and new opportunities for remaining cast members.

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