It was a bold move by the tabloid Sunday World – their front-page story featured none other than controversial Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr – the headline – “Corona Virus humbles racist singer.”
The report claims that Hofmeyr is trying to secure financial aid from the Arts and Culture Department's special fund set up to assist artists and musicians affected by the global pandemic.
According to Sunday World, Hofmeyr was said to be hoping to “get something” from the state, however, the department was quoted as saying that they had only received his submission two days after the deadline, and therefore his application would not be considered.
The inflammatory article called Hofmeyr a racist and a defender of apartheid who now had to come “begging bowl” in hand to ask for a bailout from a government he despised. It even included quotes from Hofmeyr himself about his apparent application for relief funding.
Hofmeyr on learning of the story hit back on social media calling it a “load of typical mainstream rot” and challenged the reporter to prove everything he had written.
What a load of typical mainstream rot. Please prove these three statements. Quickly. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/PbXci3I2rE
— Steve Hofmeyr (@steve_hofmeyr) April 19, 2020
It certainly does not seem like Hofmeyr is sitting at home waiting for handouts. A quick visit to his Facebook page revealed that he is getting ready for an online performance on the 25th of April. He has a poster up advertising the event saying, “ Thanks, everyone. It was a technical nightmare, but the microphone then makes a huge difference. The rest I got worked out in the meantime. I could also work through the 7 k comments. What a pleasure.
This was our test run for Saturday's Biltongsession. Get your ticket now at web tickets (here
https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/Event.aspx?itemid=1501940925)
vs R45 by phone / family / paartie.
We’ll keep you posted on what happens next.
Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa announced last month that his department had set aside R150 million to help the entertainment industry, one of the hardest hit due to the coronavirus outbreak.
