With almost 4 million twitter followers, you would expect that it is all love for Motswako rapper Cassper Nyovest on Twitter. But this week the Gusheshe hitmaker saw the ugly side of being in the public eye. Tweeting from his verified account, Don Billiato, the vodka mogul put his foot in his mouth with a joke that did not go too well with his audience
Why Twitter is mad at Cassper Nyovest
On Friday morning, Cassper Nyovest posted a tweet about the late Riky Rick which was, presumably, intended to be a tribute to the deceased rapper:
https://twitter.com/casspernyovest/status/1497129290307100699?s=27
If Cassper Nyovest meant this as some kind of humorous eulogy, it had the wrong effect on the Twittersphere. Public reaction shifted from the death of Riky Rick to the inappropriateness of Nyovest’s tweet. The Root of Fame sneaker mogul was buried in an avalanche of criticism for the “homophobic” utterance. Most notably, Mohale Motaung showed his disagreement with Cassper Nyovest:
Motaung has since set his Twitter account to “private” but tweeps had already captured screenshots of his clapback at Nyovest.
Celebrities bullied on Twitter
At just 31 years old, Cassper Nyovest is the owner of a liquor brand and a line of designer label sneakers. But on a social media platform where anti-social behaviour is worn as a badge of honour, nobody is safe. In the week of rapper Riky Rick’s passing, even well-meaning celebrities such as Anele Mdoda found themselves on the wrong side of SA Twitter. The Buzz talk show hostess came under fire when her seemingly responsible tweet went awry. From her verified Twitter account, Mdoda chastised tweeps who used trending hashtags to promote their “rubbish products”.
https://twitter.com/anele/status/1495322671181094912?s=27
Not long after Mdoda’s reprimand of Twitter opportunists, Riky Rick’s death trended on Twitter and opportunistic traders did exactly what the television personality/radio deejay had spoken against.
https://twitter.com/anele/status/1496458963017252870?s=27
https://twitter.com/anele/status/1496460157227786243?s=27
https://twitter.com/anele/status/1496421217410195457?s=27
While Anele Mdoda appeared to give up on the fight against Twitter spammers, Cassper Nyovest lashed at his critics with this defiant tweet.
https://twitter.com/casspernyovest/status/1497144044895580160?s=27
It is never a dull day on SA Twitter. In the words of the Tito Mboweni rapper, it’s fair to say “ksazoba lit”.
