South African musician Steve Hofmeyr has been ordered to pay compensation to an LGBTQIA+ organisation after he was taken to the Equality Court for Hofmeyr’s hate speech directed at the LGBTQIA+ community and posted to social media in April 2022.
A settlement amount of R100,000 will be paid to OUT LGBT Well-Being, a registered non-profit organisation that works to ensure the health, well-being and human rights of the LGBTIQ+ community.
Also read: The danger of Steve Hofmeyr’s misinformed and problematic comments
The singer told his followers in a video that the LGBTQIA+ acronym included those who engage in bestiality and that members of the community are involved in and support child grooming.
According to IOL, the parties reached an agreement on Monday at the Gqeberha High Court, sitting as the Equality Court, between the two applicants, OUT LGBT Well-Being and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and Hofmeyr.
As reported by MambaOnline, Hofmeyr’s video and comments were motivated by a viral video of Disney promising to be more inclusive of LGBTQIA+ identities after its employees staged a walkout for not standing up for equality and allegedly censoring LGBTIQ+ content.
In the video which has since been removed from his social media feeds, Hofmeyr stated:
“Disney’s warned the world that it’s going to change its characters for children to fit every LGBTQ+ preference under the sun. While my generation learned to speak to mice, ducks and dogs, our children will be taught how to have sex with mice, ducks and dogs.”
He further commented:
“You think it’s weird, but let me tell you why I’m saying this. Those relationships with animals are part of that “+” at the end of the LGBTQ; that includes those kinds of relationships with animals.”
OUT filed a hate speech complaint with the SAHRC after his social media rant went viral, and he was taken to the Equality Court in June 2022.
According to MambaOnline, Hofmeyr agreed to publish an apology to members of the LGBTQIA+ community on all of his social media platforms, which he did this past weekend:
Hofmeyr also agreed to pay a settlement amount of R100,000 to support OUT LGBT Well-Being and cover its legal costs.
As part of the settlement, Hofmeyr must also take part in a conversation about diversity and inclusion that will be led by the SAHRC.
Also read:
Hofmeyr in hot water with Human Rights Commission over Disney inclusivity comments
Picture: Unsplash
