Steve Hofmeyr agrees to pay R100 000 fine over LGBTQI+ hate speech

Musician Steve Hofmeyr. Photo: Foto24/Deon Raath

• Musician Steve Hofmeyr has agreed to pay a R100 000 fine as part of a settlement in his LGBTQI+ hate speech trial.
• Hofmeyr landed in hot water after he slammed Disney for announcing plans to design characters representing the LGBTQI+ community.
• The singer accused Disney of trying to teach children bestiality and added the plus sign could be inclusive of relationships with animals. 

Controversial musician Steve Hofmeyr will pay R100 000 to a LGBTIQ+ organisation as part of a settlement reached in the Equality Court in Gqeberha, for controversial comments he made about the LGBTQI+ community.

Hofmeyr triggered outrage on social media when he criticised Disney’s plan to produce films with LGBTQI+ community representation, saying the company was trying to teach children bestiality and the plus sign could be inclusive of relationships with animals. 

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and OUT – a registered NPO that works to ensure the health, well-being, and human rights of the LGBTIQ+ community – dragged Hofmeyr to court over his remarks on social media.

In the April 2022 video on Facebook, the singer told his followers the LGBTIQ+ acronym included those who engaged in bestiality and the LGBTIQ+ community was in support of grooming children. 

In the settlement, Hofmeyr agreed to publish an apology to the LGBTIQ+ community on all his social media platforms, which he did on Sunday.

He acknowledged his statements were hurtful to members of the LGBTIQ+ community and said he regretted them.

Hofmeyr apologised unconditionally to the LGBTIQ+ community as well as any other member of the public who was offended by his utterances. 

The settlement amount of R100 000 will be paid to OUT as well as its legal costs. 

As a condition of the settlement, Hofmeyr will participate in a diversity and exclusivity awareness conversation to be presented by the SAHRC.  

READ | Steve Hofmeyr booted from boat cruise concert: ‘I will never climb on one of their ships again’

“OUT is pleased that this matter has been settled, with Steve Hofmeyr acknowledging that what he said was plainly wrong.

“The right to freedom of speech cannot be used to demonise a community with false and hateful statements that help create a stigmatising, dangerous and sometimes deadly environment,” said Dawie Nel, OUT’s executive director. 

“We hope that the outcome of this case will help bigots realise that posting hate speech on social media has consequences and will not be tolerated,” said Lerato Phalakatshela, its human rights manager.

Phalakatshela urge members of the LGBTIQ+ community to make use of the Equality Court as a relatively simple mechanism to address incidents of hate speech and discrimination.