South African fast-food franchise Nandos, has confirmed that they have has ended its five-year sponsorship of former SA Idols judge Gareth Cliff’s Burning Platform show after a racist incident involving Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen and a member of the One South Africa Movement, Mudzuli Rakhivhane.
Read also: A look into SA’s latest controversy ft. Gareth Cliff and Nandos
Nandos released a statement on Saturday, October 23 indicating that as a result of Cliff’s actions, they made the decision to terminate the sponsorship with immediate effect. Cliff made inappropriate comments during an episode of the show where he referred to Rakhivhane’s experience regarding racism as “completely unimportant.”
— NandosSA (@NandosSA) October 23, 2021
The comment sparked outrage all over the country.
Lance Witten, Chief Audience Officer of the Independent Media Group and Editor-in-Chief of IOL said in a powerful address 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.”
Meanwhile, Nandos added that “Nando’s supports healthy debate and the right to freedom of speech. For this reason, we have for years invested in supporting in multiple platforms that enable one discussion of big issues facing South Africans.”
Cliff and his representatives are yet to respond to the allegations and Nando’s statement.
Also read:
A look into SA’s latest controversy ft. Gareth Cliff and Nandos
Picture: The Burning Platform: OneSA vs The DA with Cliff