Twitter streets were lit earlier this week after Hollywood actress Taraji P Henson slammed 21st Century Group for "falsely advertising" that she would be a keynote speaker at their International Women in Media conference next month.
It was announced at a press conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon that Henson, Halle Berry and Ashanti were headed to Mzansi for the event, with Bonang Matheba billed as the host.
Henson then retweeted the advert shared by Matheba's management company C.S.A group, slamming the claims, insisting that it was "fake news" and people who had bought tickets for the show "should get a refund."
Soon after her outburst on social media, Henson and Halle Berry were removed from the line-up on the events official website, adding fuel to Henson's claims.
Hours later, Matheba also issued a statement on Twitter indicating that she will be pulling out of the event following Henson's allegations.
My official statement: International Women In Media Conference. #WIMCon2018 pic.twitter.com/eemKFtPzl5
— Bonang B* Matheba (@bonang_m) August 8, 2018
However, organisers have now hit back Henson's claims that she knew nothing about the conference, adding that the actress not only signed a contract but received a deposit too.
"We would like to place on record that prior arrangements were made with Ms. Henson’s Agents Superstar Agency whereby a contract was concluded between 21st Century Group and the latter, only upon confirmation of Ms. Henson’s attendance at the event," organisers told TshisaLIVE.
"It was our reasonable expectation, as is the normal protocol in these situations, that the agency had been liaising with Ms. Henson’s Manager. A deposit was also paid to Superstar Agency as a matter of enforcing and complying with the said contract on the part of 21st Century Group."