Danny Brown Latest Musician to Accuse Die Antwoord's Ninja of Misconduct

Rapper Danny Brown has accused Ninja, from South African alternative hip-hop duo Die Antwoord, of aggressively making a pass at him at a party in Paris.

Speaking during an appearance on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, Brown, real name Daniel Dewan Sewell, alleged that at an afterparty for one of his shows, Ninja, real name Watkin Tudor Jones, attempted to kiss him.

During the interview, Brown also suggested that Ninja offered to have sex with him and his Die Antwoord bandmate Yolandi, real name Anri du Toit.

"The n***a was sitting on my lap trying to make out with me, and it freaked me out," Brown said. "I played this show and then my DJ had an afterparty. [Ninja] tried to put it on you with Yolandi like, 'You know what I'm saying? My bitch ready to...'"

Die Antwoord's Ninja and rapper Danny Brown
Die Antwoord star Ninja is pictured left on September 19, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. Danny Brown is pictured right on May 24, 2019, in London, England. Brown has accused Ninja of making a pass... Burak Cingi/Redferns;/RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

"I was a single, experimenting man at the time, but he was too aggressive!" Brown went on. "He sat on my lap and started trying to kiss me and s*** and doing weird s***. I'm like, 'Man, you tripping!' Then everybody looking at me like, 'Somebody f***!'"

According to Detroit native Brown, Ninja allegedly asked him what hotel he was staying at, which he said he refused to tell the South African musician.

"'Don't worry, I'll find you,'" Brown alleged that Ninja responded. "That's what started making me pound drinks because I'm like, 'I might have to stab this n***a tonight. Because if this n***a knock on my hotel room door, bro, it's gonna be a big deal."

During the interview Brown was shown a photo of Ninja, before confirming that he was speaking about the "Ugly Boy" hitmaker.

"Yeah, Ninja. Ninja tried to f*** me," Brown said. "I was scared. They've been getting canceled a lot lately, been doing a lot of weird s***. But he always throw Yolandi on you. I think that's how he's been f****** n***as.

"F*** them, though! F*** them. I could've canceled cuz—MeToo. I was sexually assaulted by Ninja. He know I ain't lying!"

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Die Antwoord for comment.

The members of Die Antwoord have been mired in controversy in recent years. In 2019, Australian musician Zheani Sparkes released a track called "The Question," in which she accused Ninja of sexually assaulting her in 2013.

According to the publication, she also accused Ninja of sending explicit images of her to her to the cast of the 2015 movie Chappie. Sparkes later filed a police report regarding her allegations.

Singer Donna Dal Monte also accused Ninja of assaulting her in Italy back in 2013. Ninja has vehemently denied the allegations.

In August of 2019, a video from 2012 was made public, appearing to show Ninja assaulting Andy Butler, founder of dance music collective Hercules and Love Affair, while Yolandi yelled homophobic slurs at him.

Responding to the fallout from the video, which led to them being dropped from a number of festival lineups, the members of Die Antwoord alleged that the video had been edited by a cameraman they had previously dismissed.

Allegations continued into April of this year, when the duo's estranged adopted son Gabriel "Tokkie" du Preez alleged in an interview with South Africa's News24 that they had exploited and sexually abused him.

Releasing a statement on their website in response to the allegations, Ninja and Yolandi accused those involved of fabricating the story for financial gain.

"Moving forward, even though some people say the craziest things about us, we have no hate in our hearts towards them, just love and understanding," they stated. "We wish peace on everyone in the world (our little hate club included) and we send our blessings out to everyone and hope they all find their way in time."

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About the writer


Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more

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