Ailes, who has been promoting his new song, Ginika, on social media, in preparation for its release, finally released the song along with a cover today.
Several social media users immediately noticed though, that something was wrong. The woman on the song cover was none other than Sarah Baartman.
We’re live! Ginika out worldwide https://t.co/6CNUx8Fz0a pic.twitter.com/IKpMvwYMII
— Waterman (@DiceAiles) October 30, 2019
Sarah Baartman was one of at least two South African Khoikhoi women who, due to their large buttocks, were exhibited as freakshows in 19th-century Europe under the name Hottentot Venus. Hottentot was an extremely offensive name for the Khoi people, and Venus means love.
Sarah Baartman was born in 1770 as a free woman. A few years after her death, she went to England with her employer, a free black man called Hendrik Cesars and William Dunlop, a white doctor.
Afterward, she spent four years on the stage in London and Ireland. Her performance caught the attention of abolitionists who tried to free her, but the court ruled in favour of Dunlop, who produced and agreement himself and Baartman had signed.
Some believe this agreement was fake, but she was left with Dunlop and continued to be exhibited.
Cesars left the show, but Dunlop continued to exhibit Baartman. Later, she moved to Manchester.
After Dunlop died, a man called Henry Taylor took her to Paris where she continued to be exhibited. He sold her to an animal trainer, S. Reaux, who raped her and impregnated her as an experiment.
Her child, named Okurra Reaux, died aged five of an unknown disease.
Georges Cuvier, founder of the Museum of National History examined her while he searched for a link between humans and animals.
Sarah Baartman died poor in 1815 after which Cuvier dissected her and displayed her body parts in his museum. For more than a century, people could see her brain, her skeleton, and her genitalia at the National History Museum.
In 2002, her remains were moved back to South Africa where she was finally buried.
So, it is understandable that when social media users saw Baartman on the cover of Dice Ailes song, they were incensed.
Many tongue-lashed him for making such a mistake, asking if nobody on his team could have told him about Baartman. People are now calling for him to change the song cover.
See some reactions below.
Have you ever head of Sarah Baartman? The lady who's image you are using to promote your new single. She was exploited and treated as a 'freak' by Europeans when she was alive. Your use of her image to promote this song is an insult to her memory in every way you can think of… https://t.co/zmFHo5SnIi
— The Great Abisola (@AbisolaAlawode) October 30, 2019
https://twitter.com/Zaddy_nomso/status/1189806874457186304?s=20
Can’t drag Dice because not a lot of people know Sarah Baartman. But if he knows her story, and the fact that she was sub-humanized because of her body, then he’s actually moving mad for using it. If he didn’t know about her, he should delete and apologize.
— Chidi Okereke (@Chydee) October 31, 2019
You wanna talk about Ginika nyash, it’s Sarah Baartman’s a-s you saw to use. Oshi.
— Fat Cat (@B0nB0n__) October 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/_TheMasochist/status/1189793538294403072?s=20
Dice Ailes craves attention so much that he had to use Sarah Baartman image as cover art.
— Enny??? (@Ennyholar_) October 31, 2019
Wow that song cover was an actual person named Sarah Baartman? I saw it & was terribly troubled. Something was totally off abt it even though I couldn't place what it was. Funny thing is, I didn't know it was an actual person. Biggest problem with Nigerians is lack of conscience
— kovalev (@kovalev__1) October 31, 2019
Sarah Baartman was used, ridiculed and eventually mutilated for scientific research but we’re still mutilating her memory in the name of Afrobeats.
I’m not the most conscious of them all, but if you’re ignorant and get called out, the ideal thing is to fix up.— Miss Andry. (@THETemmieOvwasa) October 31, 2019
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