Multiple Afrikaans artists boycotted the Ghoema Awards in solidarity with Steve Hofmeyr on Wednesday at the Sun Arena, Pretoria.
Artists like Jay du Plessis, Bobby van Jaarsveld, Bok van Blerk, Dewald Wasserfall, Nicholis Louw, Adam Tas, Jan Thaap, Liane May, Arnold Coleske, Ricus Nel, Jak de Priester, Manie Jackson, Pierre Rossouw, Arno Jordaan, Neil Somers and Karlien van Jaarsveld, joined controversial Hofmeyr protest after MultiChoice said that they would pull out of the Ghoemas if Hofmeyr's song "Die Land (The Land)" featuring Bok van Blerk, Steve Hofmeyr, Bobby van Jaarsveld, Ruhan Du Toit and Jay wasn't dropped from the Best Music Video category.
Both Bobby and Bok posted earlier this week on Twitter that they will not be attending the awards show.
Ek gaan definitief nie by die Ghoemas gesien word nie... 👎🏼 https://t.co/eS8LnoKwve
— Bok van Blerk (@BokvanBlerkReal) April 16, 2019
Jip. Sal nie Ghoemas bywoon nie. As ons Musiek nie Welkom is daar nie is Ons ook seker nie Welkom daar nie. Raak moeg om stil te bly terwyl hulle ons boelie. https://t.co/n1lugyCmgg
— Bobby van Jaarsveld (@bobbyvjaarsveld) April 16, 2019
While Hofmeyr posted his thoughts about his song being pulled on his Facebook page saying:
"The bottomless childishness rages on. The art hijacking, the white part of it, especially. Look at how MultiChoice makes the Afrikaners jump at the Ghoemas like dogs for the sake of politically correctness. "
Other organisations that also pulled from the awards show included: Overvaal Stereo, Bosveld Stereo, Bokradio, Pretoria FM, Front Nasionaal, Freedom Front Plus, Solidariteit and Immunadue.
Joe Heshu, MultiChoice Group Executive Corporate Affairs also released a statement previously saying: "MultiChoice is committed to the building of a non-racial society and strongly condemns any acts of discrimination. MultiChoice is proud of its support for Afrikaans, not only our investment in content for our DStv platforms, but also our sponsorships of festivals, events and the broader Afrikaans performing arts sector. Our commitment to Afrikaans and all local languages will not change.
It has come to our attention that Steve Hofmeyr was nominated for a Ghoema Music Award in the category for Best Music video. We have requested that Steve Hofmeyr not form part of the event that we sponsor as his views are not aligned with our values. We welcome a society where freedom of speech is celebrated, however we take a stand against racism."