DJ SBU is just too poor to be on Forbes magazine’s cover. Just when it seemed like DJ Sbu had finally removed all the egg on his face from his recent bout of shameless self-promotion, another batch has further tarnished his reputation.
The entrepreneur and radio disc jockey, whose real name is Sibusiso Leope, has been caught out by Forbes Africa for passing off a fake cover of the magazine as the real thing.
In a statement, Forbes Africa said: “On March 20, 2015, Forbes Africa was made aware of a fictitious cover being shared on social media of Sibusiso Leope, also known as DJ Sbu.
“The cover features the entrepreneur and an endorsement of Mr Leope’s locally manufactured energy drink. This release is to inform the public at large that the cover in question has been fabricated by Mr Leope and in no way represents or warrants an endorsement by Forbes Africa or its affiliates.
“The fabricated cover bears resemblance to an October 28, 2013 Forbes US cover featuring Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo.”
Forbes’s marketing executive, Sian Schlebusch, said on Monday DJ Sbu had never been on the cover of Forbes Africa and felt he was misrepresenting the Forbes Africa brand.
“He has not been on the cover, but an article has been written about him in Forbes US. There’s a certain criterion to be on the cover of Forbes Africa. You have to be an entrepreneur and have a net worth of a minimum of $200 million (R2.38 billion).
“Forbes Africa is a reputable brand that features only entrepreneurs who are credible, so it’s not too great to know that people are doing this to our brand,” Schlebusch said.
The DJ has denied the allegation, saying: “I’ve never said I was on the cover of Forbes Africa. I said I have an article on the Forbes website.”
Earlier, DJ Sbu took Sunday World newspaper to task for reporting on his troubles with the SABC instead of mentioning Forbes’s interest in him.
When the paper tweeted: “DJ Sbu’s drink problems get worse,” he responded, saying: “We just made it to @Forbes. Not even a mention to your readers.”
Sunday World had reported that the SABC had decided to investigate DJ Sbu to ascertain how much of its airtime he had used promoting his energy drink on his radio show on Metro FM.
On whether Forbes Africa would be taking any legal action, Schlebusch said: “Our legal department hasn’t made a decision yet, but they’ll be in touch with his representatives.”
The Star