Video: Renaldo Gouws and Roman Cabanac’s Homophobia Slammed

A newly shared video conversation between controversial DA appointees Renaldo Gouws and Roman Cabanac has highlighted the men’s homophobic views.

In the video clip, which appears to be several years old, Gouws tells Cabanac he believes that Queen is the greatest band of all time and calls Freddie Mercury the best lead singer to have lived. He then asks if Cabanac agrees.

Cabanac replies: “I would like Queen [but] the only problem is, you know… he’s gay…” Gouws reacts with a laugh and says, “He was gay.” To which Cabanac continues: “And he died because of it.” He then seems to add (while Gouws speaks over him), “…and they say that God doesn’t exist…”

Video in which Renaldo Gouws and Roman Cabanac discuss how Roman can’t listen to Queen because Freddie Mercury was gay, and also that his death from AIDS is proof that God exists. Cc @jsteenhuisen @helenzille pic.twitter.com/6QNBIvdWh0

— Rebecca Davis (@becsplanb) September 4, 2024

While many X users slammed the men for their casual homophobia, others argued that they were simply being humorous and were entitled to their opinions.

Nicholas Van Jaarsveldt (@Nicholasvanj) responded to the video by tweeting: “@Our_DA don’t show your smug faces around our Pride parades until you actually show that you care about queer people beyond exploiting them for votes when it suits you.”

The controversy comes after DA leader and Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen faced backlash for appointing Cabanac as his ministry’s Chief of Staff. Cabanac, a podcaster, has been accused of holding racist views, supporting Donald Trump, and denying climate change.

Defending the appointment, Steenhuisen told Daily Maverick that Cabanac “has an LLB degree and has worked as a legal practitioner specialising in deceased estates for over 12 years… this experience more than qualifies him to be able to perform the functions required of a chief of staff.”

Gouws, who was sworn in as a DA Member of Parliament after the May national elections, previously served as a Nelson Mandela Bay councillor.

He has a chequered history as a social media commentator, with over 127,000 YouTube subscribers. Several of his past posts and videos have resurfaced, including a 2010 clip in which he used extreme racist slurs.

Gouws has argued that the clip was taken out of context and claimed he was making a point about the EFF’s controversial “Kill the Boer” song. He apologised, denied being racist, and attributed his “colourful language” to youthful immaturity.

In June, another old video clip of Gouws surfaced, in which he stated that he didn’t want to appear on the cover of Men’s Health magazine “in a very gay fashion,” and expressed concern that people might think he wanted to be “the ultimate gay f*g.”

Video in which Renaldo Gouws and Roman Cabanac discuss how Roman can’t listen to Queen because Freddie Mercury was gay, and also that his death from AIDS is proof that God exists. Cc @jsteenhuisen @helenzille pic.twitter.com/6QNBIvdWh0

— Rebecca Davis (@becsplanb) September 4, 2024

The DA suspended Gouws in June pending an investigation. At the time, DA Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube commented: “We have noted the videos that have come to light that were taken about 16 years ago by now the member of parliament in our caucus. Of course, we rebuke any kind of racism and homophobia in any kind or form.”