Tjo: ‘Idols SA’ Ratings Take Massive Plunge After Somizi’s Axing

- South African media personality, Somizi Mhlongo, was recently fired from Idols SA and it seems the show's viewers did not like it

- According to reports, the viewership of the show dropped by over 300 000 ever since his dismissal was made public

- Somizi was let go from the show after an explosive audio leaked which saw his estranged husband alleging that he was abused by the flamboyant media personality

Idols SA has seen a significant drop in viewer ratings after they dismissed Somizi Mhlongo. This is according to Channel24, who reported that the show went from over 1 million to just 693 000.

The publication reported that the show lost 31.89% of their viewership in the month of August, becoming the 10th most watched show on DSTV - a huge fall from grace.

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The plunge comes after the show announced that they would not be bringing back Somizi as a judge. The announcement was made in early August but the media personality appeared on pre-recorded shows until 22 August.

However it seems viewers tuned out as soon as they heard that their fave was not coming back.

The show has had guest judges who have filled Somizi's seat. It was rumoured that Kelly Khumalo would be added as a permanent judge, but that speculation was quickly put out after the singer allegedly refused.

Briefly News reported that Kelly Khumalo will reportedly not be joining Idols SA. The fans of the talented singer had hoped that she would replace former judge Somizi Mhlongo.

The songstress is already a judge in another singing competition. She's part of the panel of judges on SABC 2's Stand Up South Africa.

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‘Idols SA’ distances themselves amid abuse allegations

Meanwhile Briefly News earlier reported that Somizi Mhlongo and M-Net’s Idols SA agreed to temporarily part ways amid the allegations of abuse levelled by his estranged husband.

The broadcaster released a statement explaining that they have given him some time off to deal with his “personal circumstances”.

This is not the only stream of income of Somizi's that has been affected. Metro FM have also granted the media personality some time off during this personal crisis.

The statement from M-Net garnered mixed reactions from social media users, who seem divided over the entire situation.

Source: Briefly News