Privileged? Charlize Theron has upset scores of South Africans with her comments about living in fear of a ‘civil war’ in her home in Benoni.
Charlize Theron’s comments about her childhood home in Benoni having maximum security has gone viral again on social media.
The South African-born actress has also spoken candidly about the night her mother, Gerda, shot and killed her father, Charles, in an act of self-defence at the same residence 35 years ago.
After the tragedy, Charlize and her mother immigrated to the US, where they became naturalised citizens.
CHARLIZE THERON TALKS MAXIMUM SECURITY AT BENONI HOME
On social media, a clip of Charlize Theron’s appearance on The New York Times’s The Interview podcast has resurfaced.
In it, the South African-born actress has opened up about her childhood home in Benoni.
The blonde woman stated, “Sad…every room in our house had a steel door. That’s the kind of violence that we were living in. Nonsensical violence…our country was on the brink of civil war. It was frightening”
Charlize’s comments about living in fear of danger upset many South Africans, given the historical context.
@Ondele_N: “‘Nonsensical violence’ and it was literally black people fighting against the Apartheid government for basic human rights”
@inguquko1652: “At least they had steel doors. Black people’s doors were kicked in whenever Apartheid police and soldiers felt like it. Black children/adults were assaulted in the streets or abducted from the streets by Apartheid police and soldiers to be tortured or murdered”.
@NatTurnerBuddha: “It’s funny she is talking about ‘nonsensical violence’ and how her family needed steel doors. Her mother killed her father in self-defence because her father was a drunk and pulled a gun on her mother and her. The nonsensical violence was coming from within your white household”.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE HOUSE SINCE THEN?
In 1991, Charlize Theron’s mother, Gerda, shot and killed her husband, Charles, who had been described as an alcoholic and abuser.
Not long after, she left her Benoni home, located at 7th Street in Rynfield, to attend boarding school at the National School of Arts in Johannesburg. Thereafter, both Charlize and her mom moved abroad.
Two decades later, in 2012, the new owner of the house, Barry Newland, was shot and killed by a group of intruders. Newland had turned the property into a car sales business.
In 2015, partners Dirk Eloff and Vaughn Grobler bought the home and converted it into self-catering accommodation. The property features several units, a swimming pool, and a large outdoor entertaining space.
The home, called Imbasa Accommodation, is now a tourist attraction. It features a handwritten message on the wall from the star itself, which reads: “All the best, Charlize Theron”.