Twitter was abuzz yesterday afternoon over news that Adam Catzavelos plans to host a talk on his journey of growth and reconciliation titled: “The video that changed my life”.
Catzavelos was convicted of crimen injuria after pleading guilty to making racists comments while on a beach in Greece in 2018.
He filmed himself celebrating the absence of black people on the beach in a rant that quickly went viral and sparked fury in South Africa.
According to the invitation, only 20 people are allowed to attend the event on March 18.
On the invitation it states that only “20 members” can attend the event but later the word “members” was scratched out. The venue for Catzavelos’ talk, according to the invite, is Hout Bay in Cape Town.
The case against Catzavelos was brought by the EFF’s Gauteng leader Mandisa Mashego. After the court case, Catzavelo’s counsel said he believed the convicted racist had learned his lesson and won't be found guilty of crimen injuria again.
He was handed a suspended sentence of R50 000 or two years behind bars for his racist remarks. The EFF, at the time of the video, brought the case against Catzavelos at the Bramley police station.
This is what some Twitter users had to say:
@AmandaRinquest simply wrote: “ I hate it here”, while @TryshaTrish tweeted: “Oh wow...”
@RiazBulbulia said: “Guest appearance.. (Lindsay) Dentlinger),” referring to the ENca reporter who was this week accused of racism when she reportedly asked black politicians to put their masks while she conducted her interviews with them and alllowing white politicians to leave theirs off.
@JoelWynne tweeted: “You have got to be f@*king kidding me.”
Twitter user @choc_milk said: “I genuinely hope that he did learn from the backlash, and for the first time, I'll be interested in what he has to say.”
@StephenLangtry asked the Twitterverse to give Catzevelos a chance: “C'mon guys. Let's hear both sides.”
@stephen_kirker: “I remember speaking to Seth Mazibuko in some depth about Adam's time working with his foundation in Soweto. He believed that Adam had changed immensely and told me how strongly he had connected to the people he dealt with during his period of community service.”
@mmarkovitzttweeted: “Nauseating. Like ’How Being a Racist Changed My Life’.’’
kind of thing. Or ’Life Lessons from a Reconciling Racist’. No thanks!“
Another Twitter user @dthompsonza wrote: “Good for him. Jub Jub literally squished a child into two pieces with his car and killed 3 others because he was high and drunk and now he's got his own show on TV.
“Every single person on this earth will at some point do something considered supremely abominable by someone else,” he wrote.
The EFF welcomed Catzevelos’ sentencing but the party said at the time that Judge Hleziphi Mkhasibe was restricted by legislation in its current form, which does not criminalise racism.