Clement from Skeem Saam Sets the Record Straight: “I’m Not Gay Off-Screen”

Vusi Leremi, who plays Clement Letsoalo in Skeem Saam, is heterosexual and has a great crush on Pearl Modiadie in real life.

The actor who plays a gay character on the SABC 1 soap opera says he did extensive research to understand the LGBTQIA+ community before playing the role of Clement.

He further stated that after being with the program since he was 12 years old, he was finally notified in 2017 that his character is gay.The actor talked about the difficulties he had while portraying the character.

“They spoke to me about my role being gay in 2017, so it gave me time to prepare.”

He chatted with others who had experienced what his character is experiencing so that he may go gather research and better grasp how it felt.

Leremi told TshisaLIVE that adding a new element to his character without affecting who Clement was to viewers was tough.

He also recognizes that individuals in the LGBTIQ+ community are frequently misunderstood, and that it was important for his on-screen family to reject him in order to show families what their children go through.

According to the actor, Clement’s grandma (Mantulie) responded to his coming out to show others… how they abuse their own children, brothers and sisters.

“Me, living in Soweto, I see it on a daily basis – how a gay man and a lesbian woman are being mistreated by people in the community. They are excluded by the community and no one wants to associate with them because they are gay. No, this is not right!”