Cassper’s Attempt At Being Empathetic Misses The Mark

South African musician, Cassper Nyovest, has joined his industry peers in protesting against the continued ban on live events and concerts due to the nationwide lockdown. The rapper, who has stayed relatively quiet on social media about the protests, took to Twitter to share his empathy to non-celebrities affected by the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic, and asked the President to consider them.

He stated, “The entertainment industry doesn’t feed artists only. There are cleaners, security guards, caterers, sound technicians, PR, engineers, tent owners, barricade fence owners, light technicians that have lost their livelihoods since March.”

The BongiNkosi creator has previously spoken out about the lack of income experienced by entertainers in particular during the lockdown, but has also boasted about his multiple income streams. In July 2020, he tweeted, “I’m currently the face of Ciroc, Samsung and Power Play. Keep your brand clean and you will eat!!!”.

His choice to brag about the fact that he is still financially stable whilst many South Africans are struggling to survive, caused Tweeps to call him out for his hypocrisy. Many accused him of dragging non-celebs into his plea to the President, as an aid in getting back big ticket gigs such as live shows and concert tours.

Thabiso Sibanyoni stated, “Ey ey ey fight your battles, we will fight ours in due time, you never support us in any of our struggles. You just want our money that’s all.” Some also highlighted the fact that people do not have the money to spend on luxuries such as entertainment right now, and that artists are pressuring the public to gather in large crowds which could put them in a position where they could easily contract the virus.

Ey ey ey fight your battles, we will fight ours in due time, you never support us in any of our struggles.

You just want our money that's all. Nathi asisebenzi anime ngom gruvo pic.twitter.com/Ix1pbS3skm

— ||Thabiso Sibanyoni||🇿🇦 (@Thabiso_Inno) September 2, 2020

Im a sound technician but i value my life, but still you guys are greedy. We working hard to set-up, to connect sound you just come & perform 30 minutes-nyana then you get +- R150k.

— Warra (@KD_MABULE) September 2, 2020

Yes. But dont use the struggles of cleaners and security guards for self-preservation. We should stop using poor people as tools for public sympathy.

— Trevor (@Trevy7) September 2, 2020

so does that suppose to "motivate" us?…we all suffering as a country and yes we wish everything could go back to normal,but i don't c that happening anytime soon…. let's give it another year until there's a vaccine…a lot of ppl lost their jobs myself included… pic.twitter.com/jJkTXmeAzM

— SHAO KAHN (@KhalDragunov) September 2, 2020