Die Antwoord has courted controversy after appearing in the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival. Image via Facebook: Die Antwoord
Die Antwoord: Kaapse Klopse & other scandals by ‘zef’ SA duo
Die Antwoord have made courted controversy again, after participating in the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival earlier this month…
Die Antwoord has courted controversy after appearing in the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival. Image via Facebook: Die Antwoord
After years of courting controversy, Die Antwoord have done it again with another scandal to their name. This time, the South African rap-rave duo are accused of cultural appropriation – the act of exploiting or disrespecting elements of another culture or identity.
Earlier this month, the group – made up of Watkin Jones and Andri du Toit aka Ninja and Yo-Landi Visser – participated in the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar celebration or Cape Town Minstrel Carnival.
But their involvement saw a backlash from their followers, who called out the caucasian hitmakers for participating in a cultural tradition created by colonisers.
But it’s not the first time the popular group has brought the shock factor…
ALSO READ: ‘It was too much’: Ex-nanny accuses Die Antwoord of exploitation
DIE ANTWOORD SCANDALS THAT SAW THEM ‘CANCELLED’
Child abuse and neglect
Last year, Die Antwoord made headlines for all the wrong reasons after their adopted son Tokkie made a series of allegations against them, including child abuse and neglect.
The now 20-year-old has claimed that his former guardians exposed him to drugs, pornography and sexual activity, violent criminals, and even “black magic” rituals.
ALSO READ: ‘No hate in our hearts’: Die Antwoord finally responds to child abuse claims
Human trafficking
In 2019, Australian female rapper Zheani Sparkes went public with elaborate allegations that Ninja had drugged, sexually assaulted, and human trafficked her into South Africa.
Zheani made the claims in a “diss track” called The Question, a play on Die Antwoord (meaning “The Answer” in Afrikaans). In the accompanying music video, Zheani shared screenshots of her interactions with both Ninja and Yo-Landi, which began when she was just 20 years old.
ALSO READ: Blood rituals, porn & violence: Die Antwoord’s ‘child slave’ tells all [watch]
According to Zheani, Ninja claimed he was a “warlock” infatuated with her as she resembled his daughter. She also claims he gave her magic mushrooms whilst on a trip in SA and had “erratic behaviour”.
According to Sydney Morning Herald, Zheani claims that Ninja also had “aggressive” sex with her against her will.
Zheani also accused Yo-Landi of “grooming” her and performing a “Satanic ritual” on her. She also accused Ninja of “revenge porn”, claiming her shared explicit pictures of her with his friends.
Ninja and Yo-Landi denied the claims made by Zheani, and accused her of trying to profit from Die Antwoord’s name.
Groping
A year later, Ninja was accused of sexual assault again; this time by Italian-American singer Jade Carroll – who is known by her stage name Dionna Dal Monte.
The singer told Sydney Morning Herald how Die Antwoord invited her to watch them perform at their Padova concert in Italy.
She recalled the incident, stating: “He’s grabbing my t*ts while I am trying to push him off. I said ‘Get off of me, get off of me’, and he’s grabbing my breasts. He puts his hand under my shirt dress, into my stockings and literally tries to put his hand inside my vagina”.
According to the publication, Ninja denied the accusations once again. He said: “I can’t believe that the media is spending its time pursuing these wild and unsubstantiated stories from people who have an obvious agenda and animus against me”.
HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, INCLUDING GBV
According to former Die Antwoord videographer Ben Crossman, Ninja had a history of being violent towards women. He recalled one particular incident of Ninja meeting a local band who was their support act in South Africa.
Ben told Sydney Morning Herald: “Ninja grabbed her [the lead singer] by the throat backstage, held her up against a wall and told her how whack she was, how hard she was trying but she wasn’t s**t. He was choking her.
Ben also recalls Ninja assaulting Yo-Landi ahead of their appearance on The David Letterman Show in 2012 in New York.
He added: “They were trying to come up with the dance moves for the song and Yolandi [Visser] was not getting it right and Ninja hit her really hard”.
The band’s former manager Jay Savage also slammed the groups toxic behaviour. He told the publication: “The behaviour is ferocious, it’s unrepentant, it’s unremorseful. Someone can’t just be told goodbye, they have to be buried in some way.”
Ninja claimed both accusations were “false”.
Connection to violent gangs
In the video interview between Ben Crossman and Tokkie, the latter reveals that as a child, both Ninja and Yo-Landi permitted him to be in the company of a convicted killer gangster: Andre Gideon aka “Anies”.
According to reports, Anies – who belonged to the “Numbers” gang in prison, and “Ugly Americans” gang outside – was dating Yo-Landi in 2013. Anies – a self-confessed hitman – was killed in a drive-by shooting.
According to Tokkie, Die Antwoord encouraged him to befriend Anies, whom he spent extensive time with.
Homophobia
In 2019, Die Antwoord was accused of an alleged hate crime against Andy Butler of band Hercules and Love Affair.
In the clip from 2012 taken at the Future Music concert, Yo-Landi accuses Andy of “groping her” in the bathroom. Ninja then attacks Ben, referring to him with a homophobic slur and spitting in his face.
However, towards the end of the clip, Yo-Landi is seen crying, with Ninja telling her that her “performance” is “Oscar-winning”.
The clip saw the group being canceled as headliners from a number of festivals. Ninja, however, denied that Die Antwoord are homophobic.
He said: “This was just a fight with someone who f**ked with us, not a hate crime. This fight had nothing to do with the fact this guy is gay. We don’t care about people’s sexual preference”.
He also claimed that the clip was “edited”.
