Johannesburg - Axed Idols SA judge Gareth Cliff says it was inconsistent and unfair for broadcaster M-Net to dismiss him as a judge on the show as they had failed to take the same action against some of his colleagues.
The DJ and president of online radio station Cliff Central, who has been the subject of widespread public criticism for his involvement in a recent racist spat, believes that fellow judges Unathi Msengana and Somizi Mhlongo were also previously involved in questionable posts, but yet they managed to keep their jobs.
He now wants M-Net to show the same mercy on him and demands that the broadcaster reinstate him on the judging panel for this year’s Idols SA season before auditions start at the end of the month. And, as he believes the broadcaster made comments that tainted his image, Cliff also wants an “unconditional apology” from M-Net.
Gareth Cliff lawsuit: M-Net given deadline
Cliff makes these assertions and demands in the urgent court papers he filed on Tuesday in the high court in Joburg against M-Net and production company Entertainment (Pty) Limited, after M-Net failed to meet his ultimatum to concede to his demands on Monday.
In a letter that The Star has seen, M-Net said the deadline was unreasonable as the document was delivered to them on Friday. They did, however, agree to remove his face off advertising material.
In the interdict, which The Star has seen, Cliff said that if he wasn’t reinstated on the judging panel, he wanted M-Net to pay him R25 million, which included R20m for unfair dismissal and R5m for defamation of character.
Earlier this month, the broadcaster announced that Cliff had been fired from Idols SA after he got involved in the Penny Sparrow debacle.
In a Facebook post which sparked monumental social media outrage, Sparrow, a former estate agent, referred to black people as “monkeys” as they overcrowded and littered a Durban beach on New Year’s Day.
Cliff weighed in on the issue, tweeting that “People really don’t understand free speech at all”. He has since apologised, saying his comments had been taken the wrong way.
In his court papers, he said he was committed to “non-racialism and nation-building”, and that he found Sparrow’s comments “disgusting”.
Read: Gareth Cliff dropped from SA Idols
In the court papers, Cliff said he was told in a meeting that M-Net would not be extending his contract to judge the upcoming season of Idols SA.
This, he said, was despite oral agreements made with M-Net officials that it would be renewed, which he claimed had been the case previously where the actual signing of the contract was made only after the season had begun.
He added he was emailed the audition dates as well as travel arrangements for the new season and that his image was used to advertise the new season.
Following the meeting, M-Net released a statement announcing Cliff’s termination, but Cliff said the broadcaster’s comments defamed his character and painted him as a person opposed to racial equality and nation-building.
Read: Gareth Cliff pours out his heart in blog
This had consequently affected his career as he had other commercial interests associated with his brand. “The financial impact of the lost opportunities which are likely to follow from being labelled a racist are unlikely to be fully recovered,” Cliff said in an affidavit.
Apart from earning around R400 000 to R500 000 from M-Net for judging a season of Idols SA, Cliff said the exposure from being an Idols SA judge earned him commercial benefits of between R4m to R5m. Cliff has stated in his court papers that the matter was urgent as there was a wide public interest in it.
What the other two said
Somizi Mhlongo came under fire last month after posting a controversial statement on Instagram accompanied by a picture of the apartheid-era flag, as seen during the #ZumaMustFall marches across South Africa.
He wrote: “Racist white South Africans hoping that Zuma’s fall will give them a white president or bring back apartheid is a true denial of the reality. It’s like Oscar believing that he’ll one day take part in the Olympics. Never. It’s like Donald Trump thinking that he’ll be the next American president. Never. It’s like Mercy Pakela believing that she’ll one day have a duet with Adele. So please stop taking expired drugs and accept or leave our country. Just because you got away with apartheid doesn’t mean we can’t see you using this Zuma campaign as a shield to hide your racism.”
After an uproar from whites, he apologised a few days later.
Earlier last year, Unathi Msengana was also in hot water after making vulgar comments to a 19-year-old on Twitter. She wrote to Wits student Palomino Jama: “Do you think insulting me, my marriage and my sexuality is going to change your situation? You’re a f***ing idiot if so… you’re f***ing delusional if you think you can get personal. F*** your stupid mind. No amount is going to change our realities. You psycho b***h. F*** you twice over.”
Msengana was suspended, then reinstated after she apologised.
The Star