Cape Town resident slammed on Twitter for Facebook post

Update 1.20pm, 5 December: Cape Town resident Vanessa Hartley has published an apology to her Facebook timeline, before deleting her account:

I would like to apologise for comments that were made on Facebook via my phone as my phone was at the bar … and someone thought they were very funny but now they upset me and a lot of people.

Original article: Twitter users were on Sunday outraged after a Facebook post published by Cape Town resident Vanessa Hartley went viral.

Hartley, a resident of Hout Bay, Cape Town, posted the below status update to her timeline, questioning the number of “Africans” flocking to the coastal town:

They like stupid animals. We should tie them to a rope. To many Africans flocking to Hout Bay. Draw up a petition. Soon there will be nothing left of Hout Bay (sic).

Hartley also defended her post from others on her Facebook timeline, explaining her rights to freedom of speech.

Cape Town resident Vanessa Hartley was called out on Twitter over a Facebook post

The post was screen-grabbed and published to Twitter by user Brad Ruiters, and that’s when sparks began to fly.

Users on Twitter picked up the tweet, and the hashtag #VanessaHartley began trending in South Africa soon afterwards. The original tweet has since garnered a slew of replies from disgruntled users.

Contender for Penny Sparrow Hout Bay chapter steps up.#TheyLikeStupidAnimals #VanessaHartley @kaysexwale @Sentletse @Bernard_Josep pic.twitter.com/eCEgq4FxiQ

— Brad Ruiters (@braddo_ct) December 4, 2016

Tweets containing Hartley’s details also began doing the rounds on the social network.

Backlash has extended to the ANC Western Cape as well, who has laid a charge against Hartley with the SA Human Rights Commission.

Vanessa Hartley isn’t the first South African to get into trouble over a Facebook or Twitter post this year. Penny Sparrow and Matthew Theunissen have also come under the spotlight for comments made on social media.

Hartley hasn’t yet published a response to her original post.

Feature image: Brad Ruiters via Twitter