SA celebs express outrage over Babes Wodumo 'abuse' video

A video of gqom musician Babes Wodumo purportedly being physically abused by a man believed to be her long-term boyfriend, musician Mampintsha, has gone viral and has sparked widespread outrage among celebrities and the public.  

A recording of the video clip which is believed to have been shared on Babes' Instagram Stories, went viral on Twitter during the early hours of Monday morning. The video appears to show a man - believed to be Mampintsha - physically assaulting Babes.

The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified by TshisaLIVE at the time of publication and several attempts to get comment from Babes and Mampintsha's management proved futile. 

In the video clips shared on Twitter, Babes can be heard swearing at the man, who responded by slapping her. The man then walked away before returning seconds later to hit her again.  

The alleged abuse has sparked several trending  hashtags on Twitter calling for Babes to lay criminal charges with police. 

This is not the first time that abuse allegations have rocked Babes and Mampintsha's relationship. In May last year radio personality Masechaba Ndlovu confronted Babes on the allegations during an interview on Metro FM. 

The interview went viral and sparked a massive debate about the abuse claims and the way the interview was conducted, among many other things.

In response to the controversial interview and the backlash that followed, Mampintsha admitted to having "over-reacted" in certain situations but claimed he wasn't an "abuser". He said he loved Babes and certainly was not out to "harm" her.

"I am no saint, nor do I plead absolute innocence in the claims made in that interview. I may have overreacted in a couple of incidents during our relationship with her over certain things I will not be comfortable to discuss in the public domain. As for the accuracy of the abuse claims, the build-up to the interview, the motive and the timing ... is a matter I will leave to fate," Mampintsha said at the time.

Babes' father, Reverend Welcome Simelane, released a media statement on the alleged abuse. He lambasted Masechaba for the way she handled the interview and went on to praise Mampintsha for his help in "grooming" Babes into the woman and artist she is.

"We were shocked to hear about it (the alleged abuse), we want the nation to know that we are against any kind of abuse against women. We were not even aware they were dating.

"After all, we thank Mandla Maphumulo for discovering talent in Babes and grooming her to be where she currently is. We thank all those who supported our daughter, it’s truly showed how much she is loved," Babes' father shared.

Although Babes has kept a low profile since that interview, when she finally spoke out  she chose not to address the abuse allegations but to rather address the way in which the Metro FM interview was handled.

Five months after the interview Babes told TshisaLIVE she was still waiting for an apology from Masechaba for "splashing" her personal news on radio.

"I am still waiting for them to come apologise to me and say, 'Babes, we apologise for the way things happened and the way we spoke to you and about you.' Because what they should have done is talk to me beforehand about what they planned to talk about on a public platform and if they had, I would have told them straight up that I am not interested."

Several attempts to get comment from Babes' management, Mampintsha and close friends of the pair were unsuccessful at the time of publishing.

Here's some of the reaction and anger surrounding the situation.