Australian rap duo Die Antwoord have been dropped from two prominent music festival appearances, after 2012 scuffle between the group and Hercules and Love Affair frontman Andy Butler surfaced online. This video shows the two in Adelaide, Australia, as Yolandi, the female member of the group using homophobic slurs against Butler, who is gay, as Ninja, the group’s male member, used physical force against Butler.
Die Antwoord are known for their blend of alternative rock and hip hop, while Hercules and Love Affair are known for their blend of indie and dance music.
In a video, Yolandi is shown shouting “Run, faggot, run” and “Oh my god, faggots are fighting. This is the cutest thing,” while Ninja spat on Butler and pushed him. Ninja then turned the camera and stated that Butler had sexually assaulted Yolandi by “feeling her up,” in a restroom, and stating “She’s like Marilyn Monroe, this is Oscar Award Wining [stuff]…”
The band responded to these allegations in a lengthy Facebook post, where they explained that the video took place in Adelaide, and that it was shot by their former camerman Ben Crossman. They allege that the video was heavily edited to make this incident look like a “hate crime,” against Butler, and also allege that Crossman also used physical force against Butler.
“Ben has cleverly edited this video clip to make it seem like me and ¥o-landi commited a hate crime towards a person because they are gay,” the statement read. “However Ben beat up the guy from Hercules himself while filming this same video clip. This was just a fight with someone who fucked with us. Not a hate crime. This fight had nothing to with the fact that this guy was gay. We dont care about people’s sexual preference. Our DJ and best friend DJ HITEK is gay, and alot of people in our crew are gay.”
Both the Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, Kentucky and the Life Is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada have dropped the act from their line-ups this year. The two are still scheduled to perform many fall 2019 tour dates, and have not been dropped from their scheduled appearance at Riot Fest this year.
UPDATE (8/21): According to Brooklyn Vegan, Die Antwoord has now also been removed from the 2019 lineup of Riot Fest in Chicago. They’ll be replaced by Wu-Tang Clan.
Photo Credit: Owen Ela
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