A waitress from Cape Town has taken to Instagram to share surveillance footage of the moment a male model grabbed her backside while she was working.
In the video, Reyn Du Preez can be seen reaching his hand out to touch Sarah Belgarion’s bum while she is speaking to a customer on another table. Sarah is then seen confronting Du Preez about the inappropriate touching, but he, according to her account, "continued to insult and humiliate" her.
This is the moment Du Preez grabbed his waitress's bum at a Cape Town restaurant:Posting the video on Instagram, Sarah wrote:
"So on Friday night I was at work( I am currently a waitress)... and I happened to be serving this man Reyn Du Preez @reyndupreez and this happened. The video says it all, leaving me with little to add. YOU ARE EXPOSED! And caught in the act! [sic]."
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"It BREAKS my heart! I’ve watched it over and over again...feeling more like trash each time. Men of South Africa this is happens on regular basis...what are YOU going to do about it? If you see your mate doing this CALL THEM OUT!, DON’T wait for them to get physical with women to call them out. Men of SOUTH AFRICA stop touching us inappropriately! [sic]
To Reyn Du Preez’s friends, I thank you for stopping your friend when he continued to insult and humiliate me after touching me inappropriately, I only hope that more can be done next time."
Appalled by Du Preez's actions, a number of Instagram users took to the comments to show their support for Sarah.
One person wrote: "Good for you. How dare he! May he learn to have respect for women after you exposed this."
Another added: "You are a strong woman. thank you for exposing him. We need people like you to fight the abuse of women."
A third said: "Sorry this happened to you, keep your head up and know not all man are raised to be entitled jerks. This guys is a DB and only apologized to save face and because you called him out. Glad he has been dropped by his model companies cause I’m sure that’s why he thought this was okay. Some people are just sh*t all around."
Interestingly, Du Preez has publically reached out to Sarah following the incident, writing on his Instagram Story that he is "ashamed" of his actions.
"Dear Sarah and those affected by my behavior, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest apologies for my actions the other night," he wrote. I am ashamed of how I acted and can only imagine how that made Sarah feel."
"It was a moment of bad character under the influence of alcohol and I truly did not mean to belittle her or make her feel violated. I am not here to make excuses, but to explain my actions and to public apologize [sic]."
He adds: "I hope that Sarah can find it in her heart to forgive me and realize that everyone makes mistakes. May this be an example to all who have watched this video that we should treat each other with respect."
The German-based modeling agency Modelwerk reportedly explained in a statement that Du Preez's contract with the agency has since been terminated.
"We have no tolerance for his unacceptable behavior and condemn it in no uncertain terms. Upon being made aware of his actions yesterday, we terminated his representation with our agency – effective immediately."
Boss Models SA has also reportedly dropped Du Preez from their books, saying: "Boss Models unequivocally condemns the behavior of Reyn du Preez as displayed in the video that has surfaced on social media."
