After seeing his name mentioned on a thread of accused rapists on Tuesday, Da L.E.S. has come out and set the record straight in a bid to clear his name.
South African hip hop star, Leslie Mampa who is popularly known as Da L.E.S had actually gone as far as speaking against femicide after the tragic and brutal death of Uyinene Mrwetyana this week but little did he know that his credibility was about to come into question in a very big way.
Uyinene's death was so infuriating for a lot of South Africans that it has sparked the growth of a number of anonymous social media accounts dedicated to helping sexual assault and abuse survivors call out their accusers. These accounts have sprung across the country in a bid to expose attackers and a number of notable celebrities have been mentioned in these lists; one of whom was Da L.E.S.
Up to three different accusers have called the rapper out on Twitter and claimed that he had forced his way on them at different periods of his career. Although he was quiet for over 24 hours after the accusations were made, Da L.E.S. has finally spoken out and strongly denied ever assaulting any woman in his life.
He began a lengthy Twitter thread by saying:
Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life. I was accused of something so unthinkable and was unable to respond (because the allegations were made by an anonymous source with no specifics). The only possible response I can have is that I would never, and have never, forced myself on any woman.
While I appreciate the importance of providing a voice to the voiceless through social media, you cannot underestimate the harm that can be done by posting and reposting false, anonymous and malicious allegations.
He continued by supporting some of his fellow celebrities who he believes have been the victims of witch hunts by anonymous whistleblowers:
It's fair to say that his response to the accusations did little to win over those who felt as if he was guilty to begin with, but the rapper as not commented any further despite attempts to draw him into the discussion.
Da L.E.S is just one of several celebrities who have been accused of assault by anonymous tweets shared over the last few days:
