Peet Viljoen Stands by His Comments About Black People and Malema: “Everything I Said Is True”
- Peet Viljoen defended his controversial comments on black South Africans, refusing to apologise
- He also alleged that firebrand politician Julius Malema blackmailed him out of his lucrative business
- Mel Viljoen supported her husband, denying any negative reception since returning to South Africa
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Despite hoping to return to Mzansi very soon, reality TV star Peet Viljoen has refused to apologise for his comments about black South Africans. He also said that he stands by his comments about Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema. This comes days ahead of his scheduled appearance before an immigration judge again on 4 June.
Peet Viljoen is still being detained at the US ICE California City detention centre and is hoping to reunite with his wife, Mel Viljoen, who secretly returned to South Africa. In an interview that was published on Sunday, 31 May 2026, Peet Viljoen refused to apologise for his comments about black South Africans.
Peet Viljoen refuses to apologise for comments about black people
In a telephone interview with Rapport, Peet responded to Dr Llewellyn Curlewis, deputy chairperson of the Legal Practice Council, who said that he is now persona non grata in South Africa due to his racist statements on social media. In response, Peet says he stands by his statements.
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"Everything I said is true. If I said black people steal, that's what I saw in the news. Every black man who commits murder, for example, I see in the media,” Peet Viljoen said.
His wife, Mel, agreed with him. Responding to Curlewis's comments, Mel said she has not experienced any rejection since she returned to South Africa.
"Not at all. I only experience joy and love, and people stop you. You shouldn't think one person says something and everyone feels that way,” Mel said.
Peet previously claimed to Rapport that his problems began after he sold Tammy Taylor franchise licenses to EFF leader Julius Malema or his partners in 2018. According to him, people with political connections later threatened him and demanded that he hand over his business to them. He said last week that he stands by it:
"Malema really blackmailed me out of my business."
After moving to America, Viljoen regularly railed against black people on social media. Before he himself was arrested for shoplifting, he said, among other things:
“Not all black people steal . . . but all the people who steal are black.”
On another occasion, he said he did not doubt that he was a racist who hated black people.
Source: Facebook
Mel and Peet Viljoen take aim at Donald Trump
While Peet Viljoen doubled down on his comments about black South Africans and Julius Malema, he has changed his stance about President Donald Trump.
Briefly News previously reported that Peet and Mel Viljoen criticised US President Donald Trump in their first interview after their arrest in Florida.
On Sunday, 26 April 2026, journalist Bianca van Wyk summarised their statements in a TikTok video. Peet Viljoen predicted the outcome of the upcoming mid-term elections in the United States.
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Source: Briefly News
