Senegalese-American singer Akon has stirred debate with claims that Elon Musk is advocating for white South Africans because they live in poorer conditions than their Black counterparts — a statement that contradicts available socioeconomic data.
Speaking on the Bagfuel Brigade podcast, Akon asserted that South Africa is a rare case in Africa where “white folks live in the hood and the black people are living good.” He claimed this was the reason Musk — the world’s richest man and a South African-born billionaire — was defending white citizens, whom he believes are now experiencing inequality.
“In South Africa, white people don’t have it as good as white people have in America,” Akon said. “This is why Elon Musk is fighting for those white folks… He feels like they are being mistreated and there is no equality.”
Musk has previously criticized South Africa’s land reform policies, notably the 2024 Expropriation Act signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The law allows the state to expropriate unused or underutilized land, sometimes without compensation, to address long-standing racial inequalities in land ownership.
Musk controversially described the situation as a “genocide” against white farmers — a claim that has been widely disputed by experts and South African authorities.
Akon praised South Africa’s Black population for its unity, claiming their cohesion has reversed historical power structures. “Blacks in South Africa are united,” he said. “If all the other [African] countries do that, we will be the superpower of the universe.”
However, his suggestion that white South Africans are economically disadvantaged contradicts 2022 World Bank statistics, which show white workers earn nearly three times more than Black workers on average. Additionally, while white South Africans make up just 7% of the population, they still own approximately 75% of the country’s agricultural land — a legacy of apartheid-era policies that continue to shape inequality today.
Akon’s comments have since sparked backlash online, with critics accusing him of spreading misinformation about South Africa’s racial and economic realities.
