According to News24, a kiss shared between two characters in an interracial relationship on the Afrikaans South African soap opera, 7de Laan, has upset some of its faithful viewers.

Soap operas are a staple of South African television. A ton of conversation is generated after an episode of a favorite soap opera and many a South African will tell you of how their evenings are dedicated entirely to watching their favorite soap operas - a daily ritual. From American soap operas such as the Days of Our Lives and the Bold and the Beautiful to local productions such as the beloved Generations, Muvhango, The Queen and of course, 7de Laan.

Whilst interracial relationships are not an issue for soap operas that are dominated by Bantu languages such as Zulu, Xhosa or Setswana, Afrikaans soap operas and television on the other hand, tend to be more conservative and on the right-wing of things. Unsurprisingly, this was the first time that the Afrikaans soap opera showed a scene of an interracial couple kissing.

Following the airing of the episode, one viewer posted on Facebook saying:

"You are broadcasting shit these days…I don't want to teach my kids these things…drugs, alcohol abuse, hostages, suicidal thoughts, and now, the cherry on the cake, mixing races…I am not racist, but white with white and black with black…shittiest soap of the decade."

Carina Nel, the actress who plays the character named Alexa has received hate mail from white viewers (unsurprisingly) after she shared a kiss with her co-star Nicholas Nkuna who plays the character of Fikani. In 2019, South Africa is still having to contend with white South Africans who view interracial relationships as being deplorable, disgusting and certainly not to be aired on television.

Racist hate mail and rants on social media platforms are nothing new in South Africa despite the popular illusion of a united 'rainbow nation'. Springbok rugby team captain Siya Kolisi was the subject of racial slurs from several neo-Nazi White South Africans after he got married to his White wife, Rachel Kolisi.

However, other viewers of the soap opera have highlighted how extremely problematic this response to the scene has been.