TROUBLE WITH THANDIWE

At work and at play Thandiwe Newton has been acting strangely and her fans and team are worried

- LESEGO MKHIZE

A NEW toyboy, possible admission to rehab, a dramatic exit from her latest film, and an eyebrow-raising split from her husband of 24 years ... There's a lot going on for Thandiwe Newton by the looks of it and fans are wondering just what's happening with the award-winning actress.

It started with the news of her being booted off the set of Magic Mike because of a fight with the film's star and producer, Channing Tatum. The pair had a heated exchange about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars and it led to a disastrous fallout between them.

"Channing Tatum is the producer and number one on set,” a movie insider says. "Thandiwe Newton is the number two-star. But 11 days into shooting and it's all over. I watched her and watched him. They were in and out of the house where we were filming having this confrontation

"Thandiwe had been acting strange on set," another film insider says.

"She's been very highly strung. Her apparent breakdown caused so much disruption, it became clear she couldn't play the role."

Channing refused to have her back and she was replaced by Salma Hayek. But the film studios denied she'd been fired and said she'd “made the difficult decision to step away from the production of Warner Bros Pictures' Magic Mike's Last Dance to deal with family matters”.

Those family matters might have referred to her relationship status. Not long after rumours emerged she'd split from her husband, Oliver Parker (52).

And then came the snaps that confirmed it: Thandiwe (49) passionately smooching 25-year-old musician Elijah Dias.