Content Warning: This article discusses themes of abuse. If you or someone you know are affected by the following story, you are not alone. To speak to someone, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732
In March, Australian rapper Zheani accused Die Antwoord’s Ninja of alleged ongoing abuse and misconduct in her song, ‘The Question’.
‘The Question’ saw Zheani detail incidents in which Ninja — real name Watkin Tudor Jones — threatened her, trafficked her to South Africa with the intent of having sex, and shared unsolicited explicit images of her, dating back to 2013.
Now, Zheani Sparkes is seeking legal action against Jones.
As Sydney Morning Herald reports, the 26-year-old rapper has filed a police report in Queensland against Jones. The report alleges that Sparkes is a victim of revenge porn, and accuses Jones of sexually assaulting her in South Africa in 2013.
The relationship between Sparkes and Die Antwoord began in June 2013, after Jones’ partner, Yolandi Visser, reached out to the then 19-year-old Sparkes on Instagram.
“i saw ur tumbla! v cool..how cn i get in touch wif u?”, Visser wrote in a comment on Sparkes’ post.
Zheani and Visser then connected through email, where Visser suggested that she, and Ninja link up with Sparkes next time they tour Australia.
“yo yo yo skull of foxes!!! wats pumpin ur style is on point! ninja showd me ur tumble blog… i like i like!! he also gun say hi 2 u! will be cool 2 hang & get hi as f— wen i cum 2 aus nxt tym! stay bad! xxx.”
Jones proceeded to send Sparkes half a dozen messages within 24 hours, an interaction that left Sparkes feeling “absolutely overwhelmed.”
“He referred to Yolandi as his little sister, basically disassociated their relationship,” Sparkes told SMH. “Within the next couple of days, correspondence became more intense. I was receiving up to six emails from him per day and I would reply twice. I was quite overwhelmed.”
Shortly after they connected, Die Antwoord flew Zheani from Australia to Cape Town. A trip that allegedly resulted in Zheani being sexually assaulted by Jones after she was pressured to consume magic mushrooms in the wilderness with him.
“I was just in shock. I wouldn’t discuss it,” she said. “I might be young, naive, dumb, but I knew what had just happened but I didn’t know how to address it and I didn’t feel safe to address it.”
In the music video for ‘The Question’, Sparkes shared “receipts” and screenshots of interactions she had with both Visser and Jones over the year, alleging abuse.
“All I wanted was to move on with my life and leave their shit behind,” she wrote in the video description. “I wanted to draw the line and finally speak the truth and stand up for myself. I can see through you people and I am no longer afraid of you.”
Jones has denied all allegations that have been made against him.
Watch: Zheani – ‘The Questions’
Die Antwoord were recently removed from a series of festival lineups following allegations of hate crime. The band were dropped from Louder Than Life and Life Is Beautiful after footage emerged of them hurling homophobic abuse at Andy Butler of Hercules during their appearance at Future Music Festival in Adelaide.
