South African radio personality Gareth Cliff has finally spoken out following the controversial comments he made towards Mudzuli Rakhivhane during an episode of his show ‘The Burning Platform’.
During last week’s episode of the online show, Cliff told Rakhivhane that her experience of racism was completely “anecdotal and unimportant”. Cliff’s comments were then heavily criticised all over social media. Lance Witten, Chief Audience Officer of the Independent Media Group and Editor-in-Chief of IOL conveyed a powerful message to Cliff:
“Don’t you dare assume that my lived experience or the lived experience of other people of colour can be seen through your sanitised lens. Don’t you dare assume that race and identity politics doesn’t affect absolutely every aspect of my life and every sphere of my existence,” Witten expressed.
The South African fast-food franchise Nando’s, also confirmed in a statement that they have ended their sponsorship with the former SA Idols judge. Nando’s said that as a result of Cliff’s actions, they made the decision to terminate the sponsorship with immediate effect.
— NandosSA (@NandosSA) October 23, 2021
However, during Thursday’s show, Cliff said that he has no hard feelings towards the franchise, expressing that they did it because corporations have to make decisions sometimes which are uncomfortable and difficult.
“I’m really not in any way angry with them. I think they had to do what they had to do,” Cliff said.
Read also: A look into SA’s latest controversy ft. Gareth Cliff and Nandos
Watch the full episode here:
Cliff also went on to admit that he could have treated Rakhivhane better and said that she held her ground during the debate with DA leader John Steenhuisen.
“I could have been better. I could have treated her with a little more respect probably. I do treat everybody the same that comes on the show,” Cliff mentioned.
Meanwhile, the South African Natives Forum released a statement last week declaring that they will report Cliff to the South African Human Rights Council for his racist remarks towards Rakhivhane.
“We condemned the continued racism, bigotry, and injustice displayed in the strongest terms. We will be reporting this racist incident to the Human Rights,” the statement read.
Press Statement: 25/10/2021#PoliticalChicken #GarethCliff #GarethCliffMustFall #cliffcentral pic.twitter.com/hTCGxHMJSm
— South African Natives Forum (@SANativesForum) October 25, 2021
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Picture: The Burning Platform: OneSA vs The DA with Cliff