Gayton McKenzie Says Government Will Not Dance to Celebs' Tune in Response to Actor Jack Devnarain

• The minister of Sport, arts, and culture minister, Gayton McKenzie, responded to allegations that his department is ignoring artists
• In his post, he clapped back at Jack Devnarain after his scathing video directed at the department and producers regarding non-payment
• McKenzie said celebrities have the tendency to expect the government to dance to their tune

Jack Devnarain started the year on a fiery note when he made a video expressing his anger at the government and producers for not paying SA talent.

Former Isidingo actor slams silence from government

Taking to X, industry veteran Jack Devnarain slammed the silent treatment from relevant organisations when it comes to the exploitation of actors and those affected by non-payment. In a video posted on X, Jack said this is indicative of failure and has called on the government to take action.

“There is silence from producers, broadcasters, silence from government, and industry organisations. Silence is the sound of failure. Nobody wants to step up and admit that they failed to protect the rights of performers, the crew and background actors,” Jack lashed.

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Jack says silence has become normal, especially when it comes to salary payments. He said occurrences such as these are supposed to ignite some intervention from the government; however, it has become radio silent.

Watch the full video below:

Gayton McKenzie slams Jack and other celebs

In response to Jack's video, Minister Gayton McKenzie came with receipts, revealing that he met with Jack when he came into office in 2024.

McKenzie dismissed the accusations and said he met with Devnarain when he assumed office in July last year.

He said he heard Jack's pleas and promised to act on his complaints but reiterated that he would prioritise other organisations, not exclusively his. Jack slammed celebrities, saying they are bullies who use social media to call out the government.

“Many celebrities use social media to bully government officials; they want us to jump when they speak. I’m different; your time of exclusive access is over. You might be famous, but you are not more important than other artists. We treat people equally at the department.”

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In conclusion, Gayton promised that change would be imminent.

“We have had three meetings with the industry since I heard about the dissatisfaction. Things are about to change,” he wrote.

Queendom cast suffer more non-payments

In a previous report from Briefly News, the cast and crew members of the BET series Queendom were allegedly not paid their salaries as promised in December.

Reports suggest that they were allegedly supposed to have been paid on 23 December 2024 after months of continuous non-payment.

Source: Briefly News