‘This me. I’m gay’: Singer Simphiwe Dana comes out on Twitter
On Thursday 5 November, the Bamako hitmaker tweeted “I’m gay”, followed by “I’ve been holding this in forever. I’m gay.”
She then posted a picture of her future wife, Pumeza Matshikiza, saying: “I’m marrying her. She’s coming home to me today. We are so happy.”
Who is Pumeza Matshikiza?
Pumeza Matshikiza is a South African operatic soprano who is based in Germany. Like Dana she also hails from the Eastern Cape, and studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Royal College of Music.
The soprano kicked off the 2020/2021 season by taking on the role of Bess and Serena in George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess at Theater an der Wien, a historic theatre in Vienna, Austria.
Before coming out, Dana recently posted a selfie of Matshikiza, acknowledging her theatre performance and saying she was putting South Africa and Africa on the map.
‘Africa will block me’, Dana fears
In another post a few days ago, Dana acknowledged that the African continent might not approve of her sexuality and that she was okay with that. She then revealed that she would be marrying a woman and had never been happier.
Mixed Twitter response
This tweet and the others were met by an outpouring of love and acceptance from the star’s fans on Twitter, with many retweeting her posts and giving Dana their full support and validation.
Sadly, not all the responses were accepting. One male Twitter user accused her of randomly bashing South African men, claiming Dana had a problem with men in general. The person also said Dana was “vile” towards the country’s men.
Several other male Twitter uses posted similar comments.
Dana gave it straight back to them, saying she bashes South African men because they rape and kill. She said this highlighted a reality that women in South Africa faced on a daily basis and had nothing to do with her sexual preferences.
Dana’s new studio to help upcoming artists
Apart from her big revelation, the Ndiredi singer also recently revealed her new studio was ready and that she was committed to working with artists who would “still be relevant in 100 years”.
She added she was willing to help new artists by investing in them with Nirvana Nanakwa being her first featured artist.
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