Anger Over Racist Joost Meme Celebrating The Death Of White People

The comment was made by a single user who has since deactivated his account.

A meme which seemingly mocked the death of beloved former Springboks scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen in a racist way has enraged social media users.

The offensive meme, which depicts Spiderman actor Tobey Maguire grinning with the caption: "Me when I hear a white man has died", was posted by a Riaan Lucas. He titled it "Joost is vrek", an insensitive term to say someone is dead.

Lucas has since deactivated his Facebook account. He could not be reached for comment.

Van der Westhuizen died on Monday after losing his battle with motor neuron disease. He was 45.

The former sports person was rushed to hospital on Saturday. Despite stabilising and showing signs of acknowledging those around him, he died on Monday afternoon.

Van der Westhuizen, who was diagnosed with the illness in 2011, played 89 Tests for the Springboks between 1993 and 2003. He scored a then-Springbok record 38 tries and is widely regarded as one of the game's finest-ever scrumhalves.

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