Dua Lipa, the British-Albanian pop powerhouse known for hits like Levitating and Houdini, turned heads over the weekend during a low-key visit to Cape Town.
What started as a casual breakfast outing on Sunday, 18 January at Our Local Restaurant, in Kloof Street, exploded into a viral moment when a fan’s selfie video captured the singer’s “unfiltered” reaction.
Dua Lipa: Breakfast in Cape Town and THAT fan encounter
In the video clip posted to TikTok by user @__krissssssss the 30-year-old singer, songwriter and former model is seen smiling beside the thrilled fan — but it’s what happened next that set the internet alight.
Unbeknownst to the Grammy and Brit award-winning global pop powerhouse, the fan had applied a filter that airbrushed her skin, making her appear paler with plumper lips.
Spotting the alteration mid-recording, Lipa suddenly exclaimed, “Wow, this filter, bloody hell!” before politely answering the fan’s question about her meal: “Yes, I had a great time. Thank you so much”.
WATCH: Dua Lipa deals with fan’s filter frenzy
@__krissssssss Chilling with the Gorgeous Dua #capetown #dualipa #coolgirl @Dua Lipa @__synth @jenovic mbuyi #fyp #fypシ゚viral ♬ original sound – Christ Et Vie
‘Vacanza queen’
Dua is known for her itchy feet, even after wrapping up her Radical Optimism Tour, leading to a long-standing joke among fans that she’s “always on vacation”.
Her Cape Town itinerary also included a dinner at the upscale La Colombe in Constantia, adding to the buzz around the “Vacanza queen’s” South African trip.
Why the video went viral
Posted on TikTok with the caption “Chilling with the gorgeous Dua, the clip amassed more than 800 000 views in a matter of mere days.
It quickly spread to platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook, where users shared and reacted en masse.
The virality stems from Lipa’s genuine surprise — her “bloody hell” line resonated as a relatable critique of over-editing in the age of social media filters.
Fans and commentators debated the etiquette of filtering celebrities without consent, with some calling it unnecessary given Lipa’s natural beauty. As one X user noted, “Imagine filtering THE Dua Lipa”.
Meet the Madonna of Generation Z
Dua, the eldest child of Kosovo Albanian parents, began her career by posting covers on YouTube. In 2013, she was hired for an ITV advertisement for The X Factor, in which she covered Sister Sledge’s Lost in Music.
Two years later, she released her first single, New Love, followed by her first chart-topping hit, Be The One.
Dua Lipa joins 2016 Challenge
She recently jumped on the “2016” Instagram trend, sharing photos taken a decade ago.
The carousel of photos showed her wearing a choker and other fashion staples from that year, as well as posing with Jimmy Fallon and Post Malone.
“Wow, these 2016 memories are making me wanna un archive everything,” she captioned the post.
