Louder Than Life, Life Is Beautiful drop Die Antwoord from 2019 lineups following seemingly homophobic video, Ninja responds
A viral video that depicts Die Antwoord members, Yolandi and Ninja, engaging in ostensibly homophobic behavior has led the South African outfit to be removed from the 2019 Louder Than Life and Life Is Beautiful lineups. Originally filmed in 2012 by Die Antwoord’s former videographer, Ben Jay Crossman, the video has reportedly repeatedly surfaced on the internet on multiple occasions following Crossman’s initial upload of the clip.
The since-deleted video shows Ninja approach Hercules band member, Andy Butler, and spit in his face. “It’s nice to see you! I haven’t seen you for so long,” Ninja says. Although Butler attempts to evade Ninja and Yolandi, both musicians follow Butler. Yolandi tells Butler to “run for [his] life b*tch,” in addition to using hate language to address Butler. After Butler is out of the reach of the frame, Ninja begins to slander Butler, accusing him of sexual assaulting Yolandi.
Ninja recently responded to the clip and subsequent outrage via a Facebook post, insisting Crossman has heavily edited the footage to obfuscate the nature of the altercation:
Categories: Videos