AKA apologises for moffie comments. Admits he’s an idiot.

South African rapper AKA has apologised for using the word “moffie” as an insult, claiming that he didn’t realise it was still a derogatory term. Really?

On Thursday, AKA (real name Kiernan Jarryd Forbes), went on a Twitter rant, lashing out at his rival, rapper Cassper Nyovest. He claimed that Nyovest was refusing to sign a contract for a high-profile and lucrative boxing match in which they would fight out their differences.

“Nyt nyt. Tag his bitch ass all day … tell him to sign and stop being a moffie,” AKA raged. He later added, “Just tell pony boy to sign and stop being a moffie.”

Queer Twitter did not take kindly to his use of the derogatory Afrikaans term for gay which has often been part of queerphobic hate crime attacks, rapes and murders.

On Friday, AKA took to the social media platform to say that he is sorry.

“I’d like to apologize to anybody offended by my use of the word ‘Moffie’ in a previous tweet. At some point, i thought it wasn’t a big deal to use this word. I understand now that it’s not acceptable,” he wrote.

“However, when I lose my cool, I tend to lose it spectacularly. I feel like I’ve been baited for a while now and I want blood. I hope people can forgive me for such a epic failure of judgement and hot headed ness. Sometimes your idiot self gets the better of you,” said AKA.

Many were having none of it, refusing to accept the apology as a genuine one. Some called for the sponsors that support the star to step back.

“You’re only apologizing because you’ve been made aware of how much this could hurt your brand. You’re not sorry for anything,” said @Aubreychiibi.

@ExcellentNathi tweeted: “I burnt all the CD’s of your music and deleted all your songs on my phone, laptop. You’re not a role model. You’re a waste of talent bro.”

@Skywalker added: “What would make this apology a lot easier to swallow is a donation of a million rand or to a LGBTI support group/halfway house. Put your money where your mouth Or volunteer at a centre like that to see the effect the word moffie has.”

In a statement, the Democratic Alliance Rainbow Network (DARN) called on the public “to mute and ban rapper AKA’s music in light of him calling arch rival Casper Nyovest a ‘moffie’ in a tweet.” DARN also announced that it had reported the matter to the SA Human Rights Commission for further investigation.

“The use of the word is unacceptable, derogatory, widely used to insult homosexual individuals and amounts to hate speech. Hate crimes are on the rise, and we cannot allow it to continue,” said Johannesburg DA Councillor Botshelo Moloisane. He added that “It starts with insults which later result in violence against LGBTQIA+ individuals.”

Speaking to The Citizen, Roché Kester, Hate Crimes Manager at OUT LGBT Well-being, said that AKA’s “use of the word is unwarranted and it normalises derogatory and homophobic language among the heterosexual community.”

She noted that “Approximately eight cases of hate crimes have this year alone been reported. And those are just the ones we know of. Many more occur and are not reported because of fear of secondary discrimination when reporting to the police.”

I’d like to apologize to anybody offended by my use of the word “Moffie” in a previous tweet. At some point, i thought it wasn’t a big deal to use this word. I understand now that it’s not acceptable.

— AKA (@akaworldwide) March 20, 2020