Rugby star Siya Kolisi and wife Rachel have been the target of a vicious frenzy of race hate by online bullies.
FOR a while they were un aware of the storm raging online about their relation ship. Things got especially unpleasant when one Face book user, supposedly from the Free State, posted a photo of them on their wedding day alongside the comment, “I pray this does not happen in my family. Honest to God, I would not know what to do.”
And all this because Stormers rugby player Siya Kolisi is black and his wife, Rachel, is white.
The Free Stater’s posts unleashed a frenzy of hate. This relationship was just “f***ing wrong”, one user commented. Others shared emoticons of vomiting faces.
When users stepped in to voice their support for the Kolisis the Facebook profile suddenly disappeared.
But the couple, who married in a fairy tale wedding recently (YOU, 25 August 2016) knew all about the venom by then – and it’s not the first time they’ve been at the receiving end of online racism.
Some of the unpleasant messages have even been aimed at their twoyear old son, Nicholas, who has been called a half caste by cyber bullies.
But it’s Rachel (26) who gets most of the abuse. Recently a woman sent her a private message on Facebook telling her that her cousin had been raped by eight black men. “Do you know what your husband and his friends talk about when they’re with each other?” she wrote. “They talk about raping you.”
“When is it going to stop?” Siya (25) says over the line from Nigeria, where he’s doing marketing work for Stormers sponsor DHL. He and Rachel try to ignore the vitriol directed at them but some times it gets too much.
Esta historia es de la edición 5 January 2017 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición 5 January 2017 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN THERAPIST
With more and more of us struggling with our mental health, here's a common-sense guide to coping with life's ups and downs
SPUD: THE MAGIC CONTINUES
John van de Ruit tells us why he decided to write a sequel - and shares how his first book helped him find enduring love
SEX CONTRACT GONE WRONG
A Cape Town couple have been charged with using a young woman as a sex slave-but some say she lost the job she signed up for and now has a grudge against them
LIAM LAID TO REST
More than a month after One Direction singer LIAM PAYNE (31) tragically fell to his death from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, his loved ones finally got to say their goodbyes.
SHILOH HANGS OUT
THE two young women look like any pair of good friends chatting and laughing as they leave their dance class in Los Angeles.
LEO IN LOVE
He's just turned 50 and it seems Leonardo DiCaprio may finally be ready to settle down
PACKING A PUNCH
Irish actor Paul Mescal beefed up for his role in the blockbuster epic Gladiator II - and fans are loving it
I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A LOVE CHILD
As the illegitimate daughter of the king, she fought to be recognised as part of Belgium's royal family, but Princess Delphine says she still feels unwelcome
'I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES'
A bite from a spitting cobra 13 years ago nearly killed her but Mikayla survived - and she's made peace with her scars
THE CLAWS ARE OUT!
Things have grown frosty between the Beckhams and the Sussexes as Becks comes out in clear support of William