IN the celebrity world of glitz and glamour there are fans and then there are stalkers.
The line between reality and fantasy can sometimes be blurred.
Presenter Boitumelo “Boity” Thulo and SA soapie actor Melusi Yeni, who have been crowned Sowetan Mzansi’s sexiest for 2013, have had their fair share of crazed fans.
Thulo has been getting disturbing phone calls from a seemingly deranged fan for five months.
She says: “I have a person who calls from an unknown number every single night and hangs up when I answer. I can’t afford not to answer private calls because I need to be accessible.
“Before the calls I used to get personalised ‘please call me’ messages such as ‘please call I love you’ from some random number.
“I had to block that number because it was really annoying.”
Yeni, best known for his role as Bheki in Generations, had to seek police intervention.
“I’ve had someone calling me in the middle of the night saying all sorts of crazy things. I eventually got the police on it and it stopped,” he says.
Stalkers come from every walk of life. Virtually, anyone can be a stalker, just as anyone can be a stalking survivor.
Private investigator Lawce Epstein says stalking must be taken seriously, no matter at what level it happens.
“It is always advisable to talk about it so people close to you know. It doesn’t matter whether it’s by e-mail or SMS.
“Always be vigilant when giving your details on social network cites,” he says.
Unfortunately, some of these stalkers can be dangerous.
Vivacious star Katlego Danke became a statistic when she was stabbed in the forehead by her stalker.
Basetsana Kumalo’s love struck stalker, who followed her for almost five years, finally accepted that “his wife” already had her Romeo after the matter was taken to court.