Grief, fury and backlash: celebrities react to Ekurhuleni murders

As the number of women found dead across Ekurhuleni climbed, South Africa’s most recognisable voices didn’t stay quiet.

From heartbreak to fury to backlash, here’s how Mzansi’s celebrities reacted.

BONANG MATHEBA’S GUT-WRENCHING POST

On Tuesday, 15 September, Bonang Matheba took to X with a short but devastating reaction: “…what a terrible, terrible day. 💔😭”

The post landed at the height of public grief.

It drew thousands of responses, many from women sharing their own fear and frustration.

One reply captured the mood directly: “When are we closing down the country as women and everything stops? Maybe just maybe we will be noticed too that we are human just like men.”

Another response was harder to read.

One user shared that she was currently on antidepressants and sleeping tablets, after escaping an attempted kidnapping in Olievenhoutbosch just days earlier, a reminder of how personal this crisis has become for so many.

RACHEL KOLISI CALLS IT WHAT IT IS

Rachel Kolisi, wife of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, added her voice to the growing chorus of anger. She wrote: “Let’s be clear. It’s femicide.”

She followed it with a shorter, blunter line: “I feel sick. Exhausted.”

Her words struck a nerve.

The comments beneath her post quickly filled with women expressing anger at constantly being told to take precautions, rather than seeing the actual danger addressed.

CELEBRITIES DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY

Media personality Bridget Masinga was among the most outspoken.

She publicly criticised SAPS over what she called a delayed response, questioning why it allegedly took another woman’s disappearance before police made information about a possible danger public.

Cassper Nyovest expressed raw anger, questioning where the country’s leaders were amid the ongoing crisis. 

Siv Ngesi pointed to what he described as an exhausting, predictable cycle.

A woman dies, outrage follows, politicians repeat her name, and then nothing changes.

K Naomi took a broader view.

She argued the violence stems from deeply rooted misogyny and power dynamics that society needs to actively unlearn, rather than treating each case in isolation.

WHEN A CELEBRITY RESPONSE BACKFIRED

Not every reaction landed well. 

Major League DJz posted a safety warning urging women in Johannesburg not to walk or run alone.

Rather than being welcomed, the post drew its own backlash.

Critics argued it placed the burden of safety back onto women, instead of addressing why the danger exists in the first place.

Elsewhere, MacG and Sol Phenduka faced public criticism after making jokes about the killings on their Podcast and Chill show, a reaction that stood in sharp contrast to the grief being expressed elsewhere online.

WHAT THIS REACTION SAYS ABOUT THE MOMENT

The range of responses, from Bonang and Rachel Kolisi’s heartbreak to the backlash aimed at Major League DJz, reflects a country still figuring out how to talk about a crisis this raw.

Grief, anger, and missteps are all playing out in public, in real time.

DO YOU THINK CELEBRITIES SPEAKING OUT ACTUALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE?