Lady Zamar was the first guest on Showmax’s new documentary series Unfollowed and shared her alleged rape story and the public backlash that saw her “cancelled”.
The singer, whose real name is Yamikani Janet Banda, said this altered her life and career.
The 28-year-old Collide hitmaker spoke about her journey in the industry dating back to 2016, and how she was not confident that people would find her voice appealing.
In 2017, she became romantically involved with fellow musician Sjava.
They kept the relationship private. However, the relationship was confirmed in 2018 when they had split up.
“We had been getting to know each other but I knew at the time that there was someone [else] in the picture,” said Banda.
“I had been told the woman was a caretaker to his mother, but I later found out that it was more than that.”
In 2019, she tweeted something that shocked the nation. At the time, many people were speaking out, throwing their weight behind the #MeToo movement in the US.
“It had happened two years before I spoke about it, I had always thought it was my fault,” said Banda.
“I had blamed myself immensely. I felt like it was me who walked into that room unaware. We had never discussed anything sexual, no intimacy had taken place prior to that.”
She said she did not fight back because she was heavily medicated and in stitches, as she had recently gone through a medical procedure.
It was after that moment that they got into the relationship, she said.
“When I finally got away, it was in early 2019, but the harassment did not stop. So, when I started dating my now-boyfriend, he was tired of listening to me talk and cry about what I was going through. So, I decided to speak out.”
Banda said there were incidences that made her feel like she was being watched and that Sjava could reach her wherever she was.
“When I decided to tell everyone it was almost like I was trying to say, if anything were to happen to me, they would know.
“It was never about anything else. A lot of the people around me did not believe me, and thought I was being dramatic.”
As Sjava started losing major endorsements, a leaked voice note intensified the controversy, but not in Lady Zamar’s favour.
The recording raised eyebrows about her credibility after her alleged rape allegations.
“When that stuff came out, which was leaked in 2020, it was made to seem like it was a recent conversation,” she said.
“That was a recording of a conversation that we had in 2018 over a music dispute during our breaks in the relationship.
“It was shocking how my narrative, my story, and my reality became a focal point of entertainment. I went on Twitter because I wanted to get away from him completely, and it worked because he never contacted me ever again.”
Also Read: Documentary series ‘Unfollowed’ puts social media on trial
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