Local fast-food chain Pedros has taken a thinly veiled swipe at its main competitor Nando’s.
The restaurant, which describes itself as “home of the original Peri-Peri Flame Grilled Chicken,” took to social media over the weekend after Nando’s announced it had terminated its sponsorship deal with Gareth Cliff’s The Burning Platform “with immediate effect”.
Choosing to call a spade a spade, Pedros used a play on words while giving its two cents of what had transpired during Cliff’s debate with One South Africa Movement member Mudzuli Rakhivhane and DA leader John Steenhuisen.
“The whole nation is welcome at Pedros. We don't do politics.. Just Great Chicken at Great Prices!,” the brand wrote alongside its post.
During the debate, Cliff said the IRR (Institute of Race Relations) found that racism was “at the bottom of their list of priorities”.
Rakhivhane then replied by saying those individuals “don’t experience the type of racism I experience on a daily basis”.
It was then that Cliff said her “personal experience is completely anecdotal and unimportant to all of us”.
“I’m not interested in identity politics at all.
“Nobody is. They’re only interested in themselves,” he said.
The episode caused a huge uproar, with many accusing Cliff of being a racist, among other things.
In response to the episode, Nando’s issued an official statement, ending its sponsorship of the series.
“In the case of The Burning Platform, episode which aired on October 21, Nando’s is of the view that Gareth Cliff failed to create an environment where free speech was possible by talking over Mudzuli Rakhivhane and dismissing her view while not allowing her to adequately express it,” the brand announced.
— NandosSA (@NandosSA) October 23, 2021