Gareth Cliff Causes Frenzy Online After Racism Remarks: 'Your Experience Is Unimportant'

Gareth Cliff Causes Frenzy Online After Racism Remarks: 'Your Experience Is Unimportant'

  • Gareth Cliff has opened his latest can of worms during a segment on his online radio show
  • Cliff invited Mudzuli Rakhivhane and John Steenhuisen onto his show for a debate on Friday
  • During a heated debate around the DA's election posters in Phoenix, Cliff made a snide remark at Rakhivhane
  • The radio host said to Rakhivhane that her experience of racism is anecdotal and unimportant

Veteran South African broadcaster Gareth Cliff has a social media windstorm coming for him, that is if it already hasn't, following his latest controversial remarks.

Cliff was hosting an instalment in which he invited One SA Movement's Mudzuli Rakhivhane and John Steenhuisen of the Democratic Alliance (DA) to discuss the news of the day ahead of the elections.

Gareth Cliff, Can of worms, Segment, Online radio, Mudzuli Rakhivhane, John Steenhuisen, One Movement SA, Democratic Alliance, Debate, Election posters, Phoenix, Racism, Racist, Idols SA
Gareth Cliff's stance on a black woman's racism experience is causing a stir online. Image: @YouthVillageSA.
Source: Twitter

Amid a heated discussion on CliffCentral around the DA's recently contentious election posters in Phoenix, the former Idols SA Judge made a few snide remarks directed at Rakhivhane.

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The two were talking over each other, but Cliff was heard clearly saying Rakhivhane's experience of racism was insignificant.

Stressing on his point, he iterated that the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) has supposedly shown endless reports of people who argue that racism is at the least of their concerns.

A Twitter user, @anna_swan_001, shared one isolated clip of the exchange, which lasts for about 45 seconds.

"Just get over it. The IRR found racism is NOT the problem," the caption read.

When Rakhivhane raised the point that the IRR doesn’t experience the racism she's exposed to daily, the radio host replied by saying her personal experience is completely "anecdotal and unimportant" to all.

The short but heated debate has undeniably caused a stir online, with many rebranding Cliff as 'South Africa's favourite racist' following his well-documented track record for making allegedly racist comments.

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Mzansi takes to the socials in disbelief

Briefly News went down the comments to bring readers all the passionate reactions to the controversy.

@JuliusTumelo wrote:

"I think people should watch the whole interview and then comment. Mudzuli became emotional."

@Aneshree6 said:

"Isn't this racist trash supported by @NandosSA? Two already naaring white men bullying and sniggering at a young, clearly much more intelligent black woman. The audacity and arrogance. And when we get upset about racism we're the problem."

@PearlThusi added:

"The smug look on the DA’s puppet is infuriating."

@charl_cupido offered:

"Ya ne!!! This is what happens when you forgive people who never asked for forgiveness."

Gareth Cliff trends after appearance on MacG's podcast: "Great interview"

In related news, Briefly News previously reported that Cliff was the latest Mzansi celeb to sit down with MacG on his podcast.

The former 5FM presenter trended on social media following the interview on Podcast and Chill with MacG.

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In the latest episode of the show, MacG and Cliff discussed the latter's business relationship with former Metro FM presenter Tbo Touch and also touched on his business deals.

MacG took to Twitter on Thursday, 17 July and shared a teaser of the episode. The media personality captioned the post:

"Our celebrity guest this week is @GarethCliff."

At the time of publishing, the teaser had been viewed over 14 000 times. In the clip, Cliff said:

"I'm probably a horrible CEO, ask the guys that work for me, they'll tell you."

The former Idols SA judge also advised upcoming SA podcasters and radio personalities:

"Don't count the listeners, reach the listeners who count."

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Tshepiso Mametela avatar

Tshepiso Mametela (Head of Current Affairs Desk) Tshepiso Mametela is a seasoned journalist with eight years of experience writing for online and print publications. He is the current affairs Head of Desk at Briefly News. He was a news reporter for The Herald, a senior sports contributor at Opera News SA, and a reporter for Caxton Local Media’s Bedfordview and Edenvale News and Joburg East Express community titles. He has attended media workshops, including the crime and court reporting one by the Wits Justice Project and Wits Centre for Journalism in 2024. Email: tshepiso.mametela@briefly.co.za