Die Antwoord’s Ninja Accused of Trafficking, Abuse, Satanism
CONTENT WARNING: The following article references allegations of abuse. If you or someone you know is having a hard time, resources are always available to you at thehotline.org or at 1-800-799-7233.
Over the past few weeks, allegations have been flying between South African hip-hop group Die Antwoord and Australian hip-hop artist Zheani Sparkes. Here is what we know:
Sparkes has accused Die Antwoord’s Ninja (born Watkin Tudor Jones) of a flurry of misconduct, stemming from an incident where Sparkes alleges Ninja trafficked her from Australia to Africa. Her chosen method of disseminating these allegations is a 2:59 track called ‘The Question.’
torture ritual, candle vigil / an innocent girl and a sick individual
Sparkes dropped the diss track as part of her 10-song EP on March 8, 2019. Her video for the song, riddled with screenshots and other “evidence,” was released March 18, 2019.
The video comes after Sparkes’s claim that someone in the Die Antwoord camp had ‘publicly lied’ to millions of followers, tried to get her removed from Instagram, issued a cease and desist letter regarding the song, and begun defamation litigation.
The Allegations
you say you f***in picked me cos I look like your daughter Sixteen / you’re disgusting, pedophile c*nt
Sparkes alleges Ninja began to talk to her due to similarity to his daughter, Sixteen Jones. Jones was seven years old at the time these events occurred. Sparkes was 20.
he trafficked me to Africa, that was your bright idea / filled me with fright then the demon appeared
Sparkes accuses Yo-landi Visser (born Anri du Toit), also of Die Antwoord, and Ninja of involvement in a scheme to traffic her to Africa after exposure to a “powerful hallucinogenic.”
Sparkes shares an email that shows Ninja planning her travel
the fear, only 20 years, to find out I’m deceived / the nice man from the Internet’s not who I came to meet
Sparkes shared a photo with Yo-landi in August of 2013. She says that, once in Africa, Ninja began speaking in tongues and assaulted her. She says he began to “snarl and growl like a demon.” Later, he acted confused, asking what had happened because he didn’t remember, according to Sparkes.
While on the set of “Chappie,” South African director Niell Blomkamp told News24 Ninja had sent explicit photos “in the act of having fellatio performed on himself” to a team member. Sparkes shares photos of these emails, indicating the photos were of her.
you shared those photos while on set with Blomkamp / emailed them to [Sharlto] Copely that was a crime c*nt
In the song, she references revenge porn laws that protect against harassment by means of an electronic device and unlawful distribution of private images.
Die Antwoord has entered the chat
On March 20, 2019, Die Antwoord posted a YouTube video titled “LOVE ALL TRUST NO ONE.” The video has been removed for violating YouTube’s policy on harassment and bullying.
Sparkes and Visser in 2013
The next day, Yo-Landi Visser posted a video to the Die Antwoord Facebook page to address the allegations. This video has now been deleted. In her video, Visser speaks to the South African media, saying they were “excited and very hype” about this conflict. Visser says that Sparkes is a Satanist and an “online prostitute.”
“That is the kind of person that is making up this little crazy story, because she’s also decided to launch a rap career,” Visser says, “and if you don’t believe me, then you should look at the links below.”
Linked were folders of explicit photos and videos of Sparkes and receipts of monetary transactions between her and an anonymous customer that purchased the content. zefrat9000.com, a domain purchased on March 20, 2019, outlines the experience of this anonymous customer.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This website contains explicit materials that fall under the legal classification of revenge pornography. We have included the URL to provide reference.
Ninja deflects
On March 23, 2019, Ninja posted a video to the Die Antwoord Facebook page. This video has now been deleted. This time, it’s his turn to address the allegations.
“Never trust a prostitute that tells you she doesn’t want your money. The truth is, she wants more money – a lot more money,” he begins.
Ninja says he and Yo-landi were broken up at the time he was seeing other people. He met Sparkes and flew her out after an extended online relationship.
“You know that song by the weekend that goes ‘you look even better than the photos?’ This was like the opposite of that,” he said.
Ninja says he realized he was no longer interested in Sparkes and cut the trip short, sending her back early.
Later, Ninja says they hired Sparkes as their personal assistant during their performance at Big Day Out in Australia (in 2011). At the event, Ninja recalls seeing Sparkes give her number to rapper 2 Chainz and he realized she was a “clout chaser” (someone who hangs out with other people or starts fights to gain popularity).
go ahead and tell a story and deflect how you always do / about the weird vegan fan that was so in love with you / you wrote ‘Sex’ about me you wrote ‘Ugly Boy’ about me / I wrote this about you I think it’s fair trade dude
EDITOR’S NOTE: downinthepit cannot verify these allegations and make no claims as to the authenticity of the lyrics.
March 15, 2019: All videos posted by Die Antwoord have now been removed.
