Beauty and the Bester

Production and release

Beauty and the Bester is a three-episode true crime documentary released on Netflix on 12 September 2025, produced by Storyscope. Directed by Anthony Molyneaux, it examines the prison escape of convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester and his connection with celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana, who allegedly assisted in his escape. The score was composed by Siyabonga Sithole, Sean Ou Tim, and Fezile Thela. The documentary uses a nonlinear narrative structure with talking-head interviews, investigative journalism, and archival footage, though some reviews found the timeline cluttered.

Backstory

Thabo Bester, born on 13 June 1986 at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, became known as the 'Facebook Rapist' for using social media to target victims. He was serving three concurrent life sentences for two counts of rape, one count of murder, and armed robbery. Nandipha Magudumana, born 15 September 1989 in Bizana, Eastern Cape, graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2013 and worked as a doctor specializing in anesthesiology, dermatology, and plastic surgery.

She founded Optimum Medical Aesthetics Solutions in 2017. Magudumana claimed she met Bester at the university in 2006, though the Department of Home Affairs states Bester only has a grade 7 education. According to GroundUp, she began visiting him in prison in 2017, and he paid lobola for her in 2020. The pair co-founded Arum Properties in 2021, which GroundUp alleged scammed people out of millions of rands for undelivered construction work.

Dispute

Netflix announced the release date of 12 September 2025 on 20 August 2025 and released a trailer on social media. On 11 September 2025, Bester and Magudumana filed an injunction in the Pretoria High Court to permanently block the documentary's release, arguing it contained defamatory content. Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, representing Netflix, stated that Magudumana was paid for access to her archives and that the documentary draws on publicly disclosed information. On 12 September 2025, the judge ruled in Netflix's favor, allowing the documentary to air hours later, while noting the pair could still sue for defamation afterward.

Reception

Beauty and the Bester received mixed reviews, with many critics praising its authenticity. Roland Simpi Motaung of the Mail & Guardian found it unimpressive, noting that the material had already been covered in Showmax's Tracking Thabo Bester. Randall Colburn of Entertainment Weekly described the documentary as 'all too real,' blending celebrity scams and escapes into a narrative that seems fictional. Naomi May of Elle magazine called it one of the most scandalous true crime documentaries in recent years. Fihlani Phumza of BBC News reported that pre-release legal challenges amplified hype but raised concerns about prejudicing Bester's trial.