HUMOR BLOG: Kicking A Playa When He's Down: Why do we Relish the Destruction of local icons?

Before we get too high on schadenfreude at the fall of a certain South African icon from his Tupperware tower of celebrity, let’s give the man a bit of empathy and realise that there, but for the ability to be one of the best athletes in the entire world, goes every one of us.

Okay, he behaved like a swine, but I’m betting you and I have done about ten things today that we wouldn’t like the world to know about and that doesn’t include the fact that I’m typing this sitting on the couch, no underwear, eating humus straight out of the tub with the back end of the TV remote.

Apparently his real sin was to be a media celeb and a hypocrite… I thought that was a prerequisite for the job. And it’s not as if sex tapes are rare anymore. The only difference between getting caught with your pants down in SA as opposed to Hollywood is that here, it probably wasn’t arranged by your publicist. As for the drugs that have shocked the community, I’ve performed to the same community and the music, clothes and hairstyles alone seem to me like evidence of some widespread drug abuse.

I suppose I understand the “boehaai”. I understand why some people are deeply hurt. What I’m not sure about is why some are so happy.