Sobbing Shashi ‘victimised’

Shashi Naidoo

Shashi Naidoo

Published Jun 21, 2018

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Durban - Model Shashi Naidoo said people have threatened to “rape” and “beat” her after a post on her Instagram account at the weekend referred to Gaza as a “s***hole.

Naidoo, who denied writing the post, said the public bashing she had received was just a fraction of what she received in her “DMs” (direct messages).

“People have sent me my home address and said they are coming to get me. They went as far as saying that they will rape and beat me,” she said, crying during an telephonic interview with POST.

Naidoo claimed the post about Israel and Palestine was written by one of her friends.

“It all started after I shared a picture with (DJ) Black Coffee in Ibiza, and a follower slammed Black Coffee for a performance in Israel earlier this year, saying ‘How could I pose with him? You’re just as bad as he is’,” she said.

“I went on to Google and researched to find out what the person was talking about. 

"All I found was a post by Black Coffee saying something along the lines of ‘music should bring the world together’.”

But instead of replying to the follower, she said she had asked her friend to do so.

“I said to my friend, ‘I don’t know what’s going on there’, please post something for me.

“I briefly ran through what was typed out but not fully, I never saw the part about Gaza being a s***hole, so I allowed it.”

In the reply, her ‘friend’ bashed Gaza for apparently not using aid and resources in helping its population but pursuing an “ambition to annihilate Israel”.

An hour later, her comments were went viral, causing outrage.

Naidoo said she took full accountability for what happened. “I’m not someone who spews hate. I believe that I always strive to be a good person. I wish I could take it all back, but the damage is done.”

She issued a public apology on Instagram, saying that she did not mean any harm and shared an emotional, teary-eyed video.

“I am extremely sorry about the statements I have made, unfortunately my comments came from very little knowledge of the political standing as I am not a political figure or even follow politics,” read part of the statement.

She said that she worked closely with many Muslims and that she admired many traits of their religion. 

However, many people responded by saying it was not a religious issue but a human rights issue.

Naidoo said she had since made it a point to educate herself on the Israeli/Gaza situation.

Some of the brands associated with Naidoo have distanced themselves from her comments, and from her.

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