In the face of mounting ridicule on social media, rapper Gravity Omutujju has apologized for the statements he made when he publicly endorsed violence against women.
The apology comes after a video clip (from a TV interview) of him admitting he physically assaults his woman, went viral.
He had been asked to comment on the allegations that singer Weasel had battered his lover, Sandra Teta. It’s not the first time such allegations have come up against the singer who together with Mowzey Radio made Goodlyfe.
“I would beat her even worse than Weasel did. We enjoy it, it is fun beating someone and you hear them crying,” Gravity said in the interview.
This statement has since attracted backlash online, at a time when allegations against Weasel have dominated public debate.
Many Ugandans on social media piled pressure on corporate companies like MTN Uganda to pull out of Gravity’s forthcoming concert. MTN Uganda is the lead sponsor for the October 1 concert. They argued that these brands have no business associating with or endorsing someone who publicly condones a sensitive issue that affects several women in Uganda.
It is likely that in a bid to salvage their reputation, brands like MTN Uganda have compelled the singer to apologize publicly as part of damage control.
“There are things I said on TV but I didn’t mean them. I was asked ‘Do you beat women?’ And I responded ‘Yes’. But I personally don’t fight. And for that I’m here to apologize. I ask that you forgive me,” Gravity who usually projects an unapologetic personality, said while appearing on NBS TV’s After 5 show.
It looked like his brief appearance on the show was specifically for that – crisis management.
“I was just joking because I joke a lot,” he added.
He asked corporate companies to pardon him.
To the women particularly, he said: “The women out there, forgive me, I have never beaten my wife, I have never beaten any woman. It has never happened and it will never happen.”
Earlier, on Friday, the Winner singer had posted a video on his Instagram apologizing over the same issue. He asked any woman who has violence-related allegations against him to come out with them.
On Wednesday, Weasel was scrapped off the list of performers on Comedy Store in the wake of negative sentiments expressed online. Many have called on events organizers to blacklist him.
World over, social media has increasingly become an equalizing tool for holding celebrities and big organizations to account.
This has given rise to the so called ‘cancel culture’ through which social media users advocate for boycotting or shunning an individual (often a celebrity) deemed to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner.
This new wave of social activism is partly attributed to the impact of the 2017 #MeToo (a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture) movement in the U.S., which has emboldened victims to come out and more people to rally behind women’s rights.
The impact of #MeToo has dragged careers of celebrities like R.Kelly, Kevin Spacey, and Bill Cosby among others who have faced allegations of sexual abuse.
A most recent case saw actor Johnny Depp awarded $10 million in damages, in a case where his wife, Amber Heard, accused him of domestic violence.
