The Ivo Suzee affair continues to rage across South African social media, especially on X, where two radically opposing views clash over responsibility in scandals involving fake pornographic “castings.”
At the heart of the storm are hundreds—perhaps many more—young South African women, typically aged 18 to 24, who responded to enticing ads on social media promising modelling contracts, fashion shoots, or entertainment opportunities.
The Well-Oiled Scam Mechanism
The pattern, now well documented, almost always follows the same script. It begins with an attractive ad posted on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, followed by quick, flattering private messages. Next comes the offer of a “private casting” or “video test,” leading the young woman to travel to a discreet apartment or studio. Conversation gradually shifts from normal questions to increasingly explicit demands. When discomfort arises, psychological pressure is applied (“You’ll lose the opportunity,” “Everyone does it,” “It’s just to see how comfortable you are”). Recording often happens without full awareness, under the pretext of a “private portfolio,” before the footage is later uploaded to paid porn sites or private Telegram channels.
Lerato Molwelang S3xtape: P0rn Audition, Alleged Exploitation, and the Debate Rocking South Africa
The Camp of Individual Responsibility
This stance is notably defended by the widely followed parody account @AdvoBarryRoux, who recently wrote:
“Stop playing the innocent victims. They were introduced by friends, they knew full well there would be filmed sex. Nobody kidnapped them and put them in front of the camera.”
This line of thinking, heavily echoed by a segment of male users, rests on several recurring arguments: at 21 you’re no longer a child; there are videos showing the women laughing and negotiating payment; some returned multiple times; friends had already warned them; and ultimately, it was the lure of easy money that made them agree.
The Camp of Vulnerability and Organized Manipulation
On the opposite side, numerous voices—feminists, legal experts, victims, and ordinary users—denounce a modern, systematic form of sexual exploitation. They point out that the ads are deliberately deceptive and mimic the language of legitimate modelling agencies; that the young women are often recruited from economically fragile environments (townships, rural areas, high youth unemployment); that psychological pressure is expertly applied by experienced recruiters who know exactly which buttons to push; that public distribution of the videos amounts to revenge porn and secondary sextortion; that documented cases include explicit threats after refusal (“We’ll post it anyway if you don’t come back”); and that evidence of a real network—recruiters, cameramen, editors, distributors—is mounting.
What About the Law?
The Cybercrimes Act of 2020 and several provisions of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act theoretically make many of Ivo Suzee’s and his accomplices’ actions punishable by heavy sentences, including production and distribution of non-consensual pornography, sexual exploitation through deception, money laundering from illicit activities, and privacy violations (revenge porn).
Yet to date, no high-profile arrests have been publicised, further fuelling anger among part of the public.
Provisional Conclusion
The Ivo Suzee affair is probably not just the story of one man and a few accomplices. It exposes much deeper fractures: stark economic inequality, lack of prospects for many young women, blurred lines between legitimate modelling and porn scams, sluggish judicial system.
And above all, the nagging question no one has managed to settle satisfactorily: how far can personal responsibility be invoked when the entire recruitment system is deliberately designed to exploit vulnerability, inexperience, and dreams?
Until a clear judicial response arrives—if it ever does—the debate is likely to remain as heated online as it is bitter in the real lives of the young women whose videos still circulate, sometimes years after the events.
And you—which side do you lean toward in this painful debate?
En savoir plus sur Gnatepe
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
