Afrika Bambaataa is “not a pedophile,” according to Ronald Savage, who initially accused the hip-hop pioneer of molesting him when he was 15 Sexual abuse.
In an interview with AllHipHop, Savage made an unexpected U-turn on the accusations against the founder of the Zulu nation.
Savage admitted they had sex when Bambaataa was a minor and Bambaataa was much older, but said he was partly responsible because he never actually told the “Planet Rock” hitmaker he was only 15 at the time age.
“In 2016 and beyond, I completely forgot that when I was younger, when I was 15, I had a fake ID that said I was 18 to get into the club,” Savage said.
“I think when he sees me at the club, what do you think obviously? “He’s an adult, he’s with us. “I think I’m partly responsible because I never told him I was 15.
He added: “In going through the trauma and everything, I completely forgot about that. The only thing I wanted to know was: Why me? I said this back in 2016 and I think I have the answer .
Savage also said he told his story eight years ago because his relationship with Bambaataa “hurt” him and he “needs to get over it” [his] Chest.
But he insisted: “No one forced me to do anything; I did it voluntarily.
Savage also admitted that he “hated himself for doing this” but continued to defend Bambaataa, saying: “Bambaataa is not a pedophile and in my opinion what he did is incompatible with what he believed he had been. Adults do it voluntarily.
![Youtube Video - Afrika Bambaataa's Sexual Assault Accuser Retracts Allegations: '[He] Not a pedophile'](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jhOYxuXgfhA/hqdefault.jpg)
In another surprising incident, Ronald Savage and Afrika Bambaataa recently reunited at an event to celebrate the death of Zulu Nation leader Queen Amber.
“I prayed to God that this would end, I’ve always wanted closure,” Savage said of their encounter. “I felt like talking to that person would give me the much-needed closure I wanted. […] It felt like God wanted me to be there right then.
He went on to reveal that he and Bambaataa hugged each other and had a private conversation, during which they “forgave each other.”
“I told him I was sorry because I felt and still feel that if I had told him I was 15 years old, I sincerely believe none of this would have happened,” he said. “I told him I loved him; he said he loved me, so there was no hatred.
However, Savage declined to say whether Bambaataa had apologized to him.
Bambaataa previously denied sexual misconduct with Savage in an interview with New York’s Fox 5, saying: “I never touched that brother.”
Savage is not the only person to accuse Bambaataa of sex crimes. In a 2021 lawsuit, an unidentified man claimed the hip-hop icon sex trafficked him between 1991 and 1995, when he was between the ages of 12 and 16.
Afrika Bambaataa’s alleged sexual assault victim urges ruling in 3-year lawsuit
The man, John Doe, claimed Bambaataa repeatedly “sexually abused and trafficked” him at the Bronx River Houses public housing project where they lived.
Bambaata “eventually began inappropriately touching [Doe] while in his private area [Doe] Was in [Bambaataa’s apartment]”.
It goes on to describe how “[Bambaataa] finally encouraged [Doe] watch porn videos [Bambaataa]apartment” and “progressed to mutual masturbation… and sodomy.”
Man claims he was victim of sex trafficking'[Bambaataa] Will transport [Doe] to other locations and provide [him] Having sex with other adult men. in said encounter [Bambaataa] Will watch [Doe] Sodomized by other adult men.
