Radio and TV personality Gareth Cliff is no stranger to controversy. The former Idols SA judge recently had many social media users shaking their heads in disapproval after he made a comment about South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor.
Gareth reportedly took to social media to post a picture of the Minister wearing a brown headscarf with the caption, “If the best Halloween costume you can think of is dressing up as a turd.”
Clayson Monyela, the spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, took to X (formerly Twitter) to respond to the controversial post:
“Dear @GarethCliff. If you meant this as an attack on Dr Naledi Pandor, you missed. It tells us more about you. I won’t bother attaching the obvious labels. What a miserable soul you are!”
Dear @GarethCliff. If you meant this as an attack on Dr Naledi Pandor, you missed. It tells us more about you. I won’t bother attaching the obvious labels. What a miserable soul you are! pic.twitter.com/VKxUbWzH4M
— Clayson Monyela (@ClaysonMonyela) November 9, 2023
Gareth’s post also led other social media users to comment on the matter.
One X user said, “Please demand a public apology from him. This is not an attack on Dr Pandor, it’s an insult to all women who wear the hijab.”
Please demand a public apology from him. This is not an attack on Dr. Pandor, it’s an insult to all Women who wear the hijab.
— Vimlesh Rajbansi (@VimleshRajbansi) November 9, 2023
Another person wrote, “I used to think Gareth Cliff was someone who just speaks his mind. A free spirit. Didn’t agree with him all the time, but I liked that he always held a different perspective. Nope, he’s just a raging racist. Enough is enough.”
I used to think Gareth Cliff was someone who just speaks his mind. A free spirit. Didn’t agree with him all the time, but I liked that he always held a different perspective.
Nope, he’s just a raging racist.
Enough is enough.
— Chef (@Lelo_Manoto) November 9, 2023
Another X user saw Gareth’s post as “islamiphobic, racist and misogynistic.”
It’s islamiphobic, racist and misogynistic they can occur simultaneously
— fuck it up buttercup 🇵🇸🇸🇩🇨🇩 (@ceestallion) November 9, 2023
Seeing all the backlash he received, Gareth stated on his Instagram Story, “To be clear: I don’t care if you’re upset or offended. Those are your problems to deal with. I’m not required to be polite or tiptoe around your emotional fragility. As 2024 rolls around, expect me to care even less.”
He then added, “And call me whatever you like. You don’t know what’s in my head. You can’t know. I’m very happy and very lucky to be me. I’m grateful for that and disinterested in what strangers might think of me.”
Also see: ‘Nothing short of amazing’ – Thembi Seete appreciates Idols SA family
