Steve Hofmeyr

Steve Hofmeyr

Steve Hofmeyr in 2007
Background information
Birth name Steve Hofmeyr
Born (1964-08-29) 29 August 1964
Pretoria, South Africa
Genres Afrikaans pop/folk
Occupation(s) Musician
songwriter
actor
TV Presenter
Instruments Singing
Years active 1989–present
Labels Big Heart Productions
Website stevehofmeyr.co.za

Steve Hofmeyr (born 29 August 1964) is a South African singer, songwriter and actor and an activist for Afrikaner rights in South Africa.[1] He has been involved in several controversies throughout his professional career.

Personal life

Hofmeyr married actress Natasha Sutherland, whom he had met on the set of Egoli: Place of Gold in 1998, they had two sons, Sebastian, born 13 December 2001 and Benjamin, born later. Hofmeyr also has three other children by other women[2][3] The couple was divorced after reports of numerous affairs dominated Hofmeyr's time in the spotlight in 2008.[4]

In December 2008, Hofmeyr allegedly assaulted Esmaré Weideman, editor of Huisgenoot, a popular Afrikaans magazine, by pouring a cup of cold tea over her at the Miss South Africa finals.[5] He was said to have blamed her and two other journalists for his divorce from Sutherland. Miss Weideman subsequently dropped her accusations.[6]

On 19 December 2013, Hofmeyr was arrested in Bronkhorstspruit for driving at 169 km/h in an 80 km/h zone and was released on Bail of R500. He was subsequently fined R10,000 in the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate's Court on 23 January 2014.[7]

Hofmeyr married Janine van der Vyver on 26 January 2014. In 2008, Janine van der Vyver, a fitness instructor, revealed they had been seeing each other for 10 years.[8]

Hofmeyr's grandfather was Steve Hofmeyr Sr., a leader in the Ossewabrandwag.[9][10]

Controversies

In January 2007, there were reports that one branch of the News Cafe restaurant chain would not play Hofmeyr's song Pampoen. The managing director of the company that owns the franchise denies that this is company policy and points out that many Afrikaans acts, such as Karen Zoid and Arno Carstens have performed at News Cafe.[11]

On 12 May 2011, Hofmeyr released the lyrics to his new song called "Ons sal dit oorleef", which means "We will survive this". The song is controversial, because Hofmeyr has threatened to include the word "kaffir" in the lyrics of the song.[12] Hofmeyr removed the offensive word in his song, citing that the word would offend his black friends and colleagues.[13]

In 2011, he made public that he supports the organisation "Expedition for Afrikaner Self-Determination" (Onafhanklike Afrikaner Selfbeskikkingsekspedisie, OASE). OASE describes itself as an advocacy group for Afrikaner self-determination in compliance with the international law and the guidelines of the international community. He is an avid pro-Afrikaner but mentioned that he maintains a moderate political stance in an OASE public relations video.[14]

Hofmeyr was heavily criticised after performing the former South African national anthem, Die Stem, at a cultural festival known as Innibos in Nelspruit in July 2014.[15] He went on to perform the anthem on international tours, and encouraged South Africans to continue singing it, stating that it did not contain any form of hate speech.

In October 2014, Hofmeyr wrote and published a tweet stating that he believed that black South Africans were the "architects of apartheid" on his public Twitter account. This prompted a significant public backlash.[16] One of Hofmeyr's critics was puppeteer Conrad Koch and his puppet Chester Missing, who launched a campaign calling on companies to stop sponsoring Hofmeyr. On 27 November 2014, Hofmeyr failed to acquire a final protection order against Koch and his puppet in the Randburg Magistrate's Court.[17]

Hofmeyr has given statements indicative of an apartheid denialist[18] which has led various journalists and public figures to label him a "disgrace to South Africa".[19][20]

Discography

Filmography

Stage

Film

Television

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "Chester Missing questions sponsorship of 'apartheid denialist'". Mail & Guardian. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Steve Hofmeyr". TVSA. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Q&A: Steve Hofmeyr". RollingStone Magazine. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  4. ↑ Philip de Bruin, News 24, "Steve 'needs psychiatric help", 17 December 2008
  5. ↑ Philip de Bruin, News 24 (South Africa),"Steve gets shir-tea with editor", 17 December 2008
  6. ↑ "Hofmeyr and editor end legal stand-off". Legalbrief. Retrieved 26 September 2013. (subscription required (help)).
  7. ↑ "Steve Hofmeyr fined R10 000 for speeding". Channel24.co.za. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Hofmeyr pays up in time for wedding".
  9. ↑ Green, Phyllis (7 March 2014). "Steve Hofmeyr gesels oor sy nuwe boek". Sarie (in Afrikaans).
  10. ↑ Ebersöhn, Piet (25 July 2012). "Eerste sportredakteur was Oxford Blue én owerste van Stormjaers" (in Afrikaans).
  11. ↑ Eagan Williamson (4 January 2007). "News Cafe begin 'n ander (Afrikaanse) deuntjie sing". Beeld (in Afrikaans). Retrieved 8 January 2007.
  12. ↑ "Steve Hofmeyr spits venom". 12 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  13. ↑ Sapa. "K-word will offend my black friends, says Hofmeyr". Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "Steve Hofmeyr Supports OASE". OASE. 8 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "Hofmeyr sings Die Stem at Innibos". iol News. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Hofmeyr faces Twitter backlash after Apartheid post".
  17. ↑ "Steve Hofmeyr 0, Chester Missing 1". Business Day. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  18. ↑ "Chester Missing questions sponsorship of 'apartheid denialist'". Mail & Guardian. SAPA. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  19. ↑ Dawjee, Haji Mohamed (29 October 2014). "Steve Hofmeyr: 7 books from his library". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  20. ↑ Cronje, Frans. "Steve Hofmeyr, you're a disgrace to South Africa". PoliticsWeb. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  21. ↑ "CD Discography". Steve Hofmeyr Official Website. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
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