The famous South African hip-hop rave group find themselves publicly implicated by one of their adopted children, who has publicly exposed a series of abuses over the years. The singers deny, no prosecution has been initiated at this time.
Physical violence, negligence, sexual assault, exploitation of minors… The charges against the South African group Die Antwoord are serious. “You didn’t adopt me for [me donner] a future, but to make me a slave”, said in an interview, which aired last week on the local news site News24, Gabriel du Preez, the adopted son of the famous duo who revolutionized the South African hip-hop rave scene: Watkin Tudor Jones, 47, alias “Ninja”, and Anri du Toit, 37, alias “Yolandi Visser”.
Nicknamed “Tokkie”, the young man, now 20, was adopted when he was 9 years old. At the time, Die Antwoord, formed in 2008, took off and enjoyed international success with its bewitching guttural sounds and its psychedelic, raw and gore aesthetic that pushed the limits of unease. Born into an Afrikaner family, Tokkie grew up in the poor neighborhood of Vrededorp, Johannesburg, until Ninja and Yolandi spotted him and offered to take him into their home, along with his little sister, now 14. years. The kid appears in several of their music videos, like those ofI Fink U Freeky (“I find you weird”) andUgly Boy (“awful boy”). He suffers from a rare genetic disease, hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, which is characterized in particular by morphological damage to the teeth, craniofacial dysmorphism and other tissue abnormalities. With his two sharp teeth, a whitish complexion, dark circles and shaggy hair that make him look like a little vampire, Tokkie suits the sulphurous universe of the group.
Satanic rituals
“They made me believe I was the devil. They made me believe that I could burn people in hell, that I was the king of hell. They told me I could bring darkness to Earth,” says the young man in this disturbing testimony, where he evokes satanic rituals and blood samples. One day, Tokkie, then 15 years old, stabs his older brother (who was not adopted by the group) three times, following an argument at his adoptive parents. According to him, they congratulate him. He also claims that Yolandi Visser and Ninja forced him and his sister to undress in front of them. The glaucous details follow one another. The video where Tokkie confides during 45 minutes was filmed by the former cameraman and artistic collaborator of Die Antwoord, Ben Crossman.
In recent years, after breaking his relationship with the group, Ben Crossman had already publicly mentioned scenes of violence involving the duo. He claims that Ninja, the singer who cultivates his trendy crazy image white trash is a violent and misogynistic man off stage. In 2012, in New York, he allegedly assaulted his partner Yolandi, with whom he was in a relationship at the time. “They were trying to find the dance moves for a song. Yolandi didn’t understand well and Ninja hit her really hard.” said Ben Crossman.
In another video, from 2012, Ninja and Yolandi are seen attacking American DJ Andy Butler, the openly gay frontman of Hercules and Love Affair. Ninja spits in her face, Yolandi screams “Run, fagot, run! Run for your life, bitch!” while another man screams that he should be killed. The controversy will lead to the cancellation of several concerts of the group.
Incestuous fantasies
If the cases were quickly stifled, at least two women have also accused Watkin Tudor Jones of sexual assault. In 2019, one of them, Australian rapper and model Zheani Sparkes, released a track called The Question, where she accuses, screenshots in support, Ninja of having brutalized her when they had a brief relationship in 2013, and of harboring incestuous fantasies. The many fans of the group had then denigrated her, convinced that the young woman had invented everything to make a name for herself. But since the broadcast of Tokkie’s testimony, many are distancing themselves on social networks. Some believe that Die Antwoord should answer these accusations in court. No complaints have been filed so far. The couple still have custody of Tokkie’s younger sister, although she has been living with another family in Johannesburg for some time.
In response to the statements of their adopted son, who is no longer in contact with them, the group spoke tersely through its agent Scumeck Sabottka, in Berlin: “Die Antwoord does not agree with Tokkie’s statements.”