Actor Joe Kazadi has spoken up against bullying he’s faced for being a foreigner in South Africa and how it’s affected his mental health.
Calling out a social media troll who questioned when he’ll return back home, Joe candidly spoke of online attacks he’s faced.
“I am so tired of these unnecessary attacks, and for so long I have been receiving these comments and attacks. I am human too, and they are affecting me in many ways you all don’t understand,” he wrote.
“Please stop. I don’t bother anyone in this world. My biggest mistake was to be in the public eye. I am attacked on set by co-workers, and on most sets I have to lock myself in the room so I can be invisible to some people, and I hardly even audition because it’s affecting me to know I will only be multiplying more hate on myself, and I would like to say enough. I am someone’s son, father and, most importantly, human.
“How much blocking will I have to do per day? Enough. I am not a member of any political party. I am just a simple actor. I have been unemployed since 2021, so why so much hate? At times I cry myself to sleep because my inbox is full of such messages from bullies; my anxiety goes up all the time I have to post on these socials or even go to the mall, and at some point I even started wearing a mask just to cover my face so I can avoid these bullies, and the only person I would call when depression from these bullies hits hard has passed away, meaning I am alone. Please be kind because I am literally alone, and I live alone.”
Joe said he came to South Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a refugee child and has been bullied for it since he was in school.
“No one chooses to be a foreigner in another person’s country. I am a good citizen; I pay my taxes. I have tried to create employment through my company. I have taught the youth how to be responsible fathers. I respect this country. I don’t need this at all, and especially in times like these, I am African, and I will live where I want on this continent because I am home. I am alive, and I am speaking up for myself.
“I refuse to be the face of all foreign problems in this country because of my fame. I was born in Lubumbashi to a Muluba father and mother. I am not Nigerian. This is 25 years of being called the K word and bullying. If I don’t speak up, who will?”