The former Generations actor and now Hollywood star Fana Mokoena who played Doctor Mandla Sithole during the 1990s on the SABC's most watched show, criticised the dismissal of the actors, saying its an industry wide problem.
Fana Mokoena said that actors need to stand together in general, to be represented by a solid actors' representative body.
TV and radio presenter Mark Pilgrim said on Twitter that he would much rather have the money from his TV licence that he has to pay to the SABC go towards actor's salaries, instead of the huge salary of the SABC's famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
On Tuesday 702 radio talk show host Redi Tlhabi said "basically there will be no soapie without these people."
"Why is it that a soapie star from another part of the world will become a multi-millionaire from their acting? Do we treat our actors with the same respect?"
"We've had stories of South African actors dying as paupers like Henry Cele [in Shaka Zulu, now being shown on SABC3 again]. We're told he died a very, very poor man. Are we in 2014 - what this is about?"
e.tv's Scandal! soap actress Florence Masebe said on Twitter that "It explains why black entertainers die paupers, because they have absolutely no cover, nor parity income".
SABC2's Muvhango drama queen Rami Chuene chimed in on Twitter: "The most popular show without the popular stars? The longest running show without the longest serving actors? The most income generating show without incoming generating actors?"
South Africa's minister of sport, Fikile Mbalula, also chimed in.
"You can't just dismiss people en masse when they demand more pay. This is super exploitation. We can't associate ourselves with exploitation. This can't be right. I can feel it in my blood. Somebody somewhere is getting away with murder. No ways. The Generations situation can't be okay."
"Lets speak out and put a stop to this. Those who say actors are not vulnerable, they don't know the industry. It's for this very reason that they can't be dismissed like this," said Fikile Mbalula on Twitter.
TV and radio presenter Zuraida Jardine said on Twitter that South Africa's actors need to be paid their worth and be treated well. "It's time. Fair is Fair! Networks need to start celebrating actors too".
"The most popular show without the popular stars? asked actress and presenter Faye Peters.
"I wonder if a mine boss or a corporate CEO spoke about workers like Mfundi Vundla or the SABC do about actors on Generations," remarked radio host Gareth Cliff on Twitter.
