South African social media users have a well-known love for memes and enjoy using them to comment on any and every occasion. However, former cabinet minister Tito Mboweni has made it clear that he is not amused by memes that poke fun at him.
The former Reserve Bank governor and Minister of Finance recently responded to Twitter users who shared a Photoshopped image of him. While Tito Mboweni is known for his ability to take a joke, especially when it comes to his cooking, he surprised tweeps by clapping back at the image.
Loadsheding, Loadsheding go away, Governor wants to work! pic.twitter.com/C9UnMBCJvU
— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) April 23, 2023
The meme in question was created from an image that Tito Mboweni recently shared on Twitter. In the original photo, he is sitting in the dark during a load-shedding event. However, mischievous social media users decided to have fun with the image and Photoshopped two cigarettes into their nostrils, creating a humorous effect.
A furious Tito clapped back: “Photoshopping must be declared a crime”
Photoshopping must be declared a crime.
— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) April 28, 2023
Tito Mboweni responds to yet another meme
This is not the first time Tito Mboweni has expressed his displeasure with Twitter users who create memes featuring him. A year ago, the amateur cook responded to another Photoshopped image that had been shared on the platform.
Photoshopping people’s pictures, distorting them should be illegal! This is not me!!! pic.twitter.com/ztrnWh92ib
— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) March 6, 2022
The image in question featured a likeness of Tito Mboweni but with a chubbier appearance reminiscent of the character from the movie “Nutty Professor.” In response to the meme, Tito Mboweni took to Twitter to express his disapproval. He wrote: “Photoshopping people’s pictures, distorting them should be illegal! This is not me!”
However, it seems that Tito Mboweni eventually decided to embrace the old adage, “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” Just a few hours after expressing his disapproval of the Photoshopped image, he shared a tweet featuring a picture of himself alongside a Photoshopped image of Cyril Ramaphosa.
In difficult and challenging times, it is good to have a moment of laughter!! Who is who here? 🙈🙈🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/4olvXstdte
— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) March 6, 2022
Tito Mboweni captioned the tweet: “In difficult and challenging times, it is good to have a moment of laughter!” It seems that he was able to find some humor in the situation after all.