Chantelle Benjamin
5 November 2009
Johannesburg — THE biography of former Springbok hero Joost van der Westhuizen, titled Joost: The Man in the Mirror, has sold out on the first day of its release yesterday, but the book may already be out of date after news of an alleged affair with an Olympic athlete emerged.
The last chapter in Van der Westhuizen's book, in which he finally comes clean about taking drugs with 24-year-old Marlize van Emmenis in a controversial videotape, no doubt has contributed to the book's success. Excerpts in a Sunday newspaper had the nation riveted.
According to publisher Random House Struik, the book's entire first print run has been sold off to bookshops, with retailers "increasing their initial orders on Monday in response to high demand from customers".
Yesterday it emerged in Beeld newspaper that former Olympic athlete Charmaine Weavers (Gale) is alleging that she had an affair with Van der Westhuizen. This raises the question, will there be another chapter? Especially since Van der Westhuizen, when approached about the allegations, did not deny the affair, although he has denied it in the past.
Author David Gemmell says there will not be another chapter, insisting that Van der Westhuizen has paid his dues . But then Gemmell has not seen the impressive print numbers.
Random House Struik said yesterday that it had expectations that the book would do well, as it was "well written" and contained "controversial content". Asked about an additional chapter, Kim Taylor of Random House Struik said: "No, things are moving so fast that we do not even have time for footnotes."
Van der Westhuizen's mistakes have already cost him a lucrative job on SuperSport, who said soon after excerpts ran in a Sunday paper that a meeting had been held with Van der Westhuizen over the book and a decision made to "terminate his freelance agreement".
And his late confession to his wife -- apparently he only told her the truth about Van Emmenis in August -- has already placed his marriage in jeopardy, according to Van der Westhuizen and his wife Amor Vittone, who spoke recently on Jacaranda FM.
Gemmell says Van der Westhuizen has been sufficiently forthright and has already humiliated himself in public on the Van Emmenis matter, with Van der Westhuizen admitting that he is flawed. Gemmell also says he has no idea if Weaver's allegations are true.
"People have affairs every day but they do not need to tell everyone about it," says Gemmell.
Weavers, who represented SA in the high jump at the 1992 Olympics, told Beeld that her affair with Van der Westhuizen started while he was still married to his first wife Marlene, whom he divorced in 2001. Weavers' reason for going public about their affair was to "close the book on the past".
But it seems what she has really done is open the way for another chapter.
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