Gareth Cliff fired from Idols: a timeline of events

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TVSA Team
11 Jan 2016 09:47 Posted in Gareth Cliff

So Gareth Cliff was fired from Idols over the weekend - for a social media comment he made in response to Penny Sparrow's racist comments over the new year.

Gareth covered the incident on CliffCentral.com, his blog, Twitter etc. and social media exploded when he made the following comment in response to a poll about freedom of speech: “People don’t understand free speech at all."

People threatened to boycott him and Idols and sent him death threats in response. On 5 January he apologised for the comment saying:

"I've been an insensitive asshole many times. This whole saga with the idiotic comments of Penny Sparrow has upset me, but I must acknowledge the pain and anger of so many on Twitter who thought I would in any way condone the things she said. If you thought I was on the side of a rascist, I assumed we were already in agreement about how you can't stand up FOR racism. If I didn't make that clear, I apologise - sincerely. With regard to free speech and hate speech, I need to continue my education."

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Then, just before midnight on Friday (8 January), M-Net issued this statement:

New judging panel for Idols Season 12

M-Net today announced that Gareth Cliff will not be part of the judging panel for Idols SA Season 12, which is due to commence with countrywide auditions at the end of January 2016.

M-Net thanks Cliff for the critical role he has played in seeking out and developing new talent over the years and for contributing to the success of the show to date.

Idols SA Season 12 will be screened on M-Net’s Local Interest channel Mzansi Magic which is available to both DStv Premium and DStv Compact viewers.

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They followed this up with this second statement on Saturday afternoon:

Why Gareth Cliff will not be on the Idols Season 12 panel

Over the last few months following Unathi’s indiscretions on social media, we have been in discussions with our judges, presenters and talent to sensitise them to the risks of using social media. All the Idols SA judges were reminded that M-Net holds all brand ambassadors and employees to the highest standards in our ongoing efforts to promote and build a modern and inclusive South Africa.

Unfortunately we then had to deal with Somizi’s inappropriate comments and following the latest issue, we have now implemented a zero tolerance policy for all social media posts that go against the spirit of nation-building. This policy will apply to everyone associated with our brands going forward.

We do not believe that Gareth is a racist but his response showed a lack of empathy for our history and it is important to differentiate between freedom of speech and hate speech. Penny Sparrow’s comments were hateful. Hate speech is not applicable with regard to freedom of speech .

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On Saturday Gareth responded to the news with a statement on Facebook:

How has your 2016 been so far? Sadly, in South Africa, instead of celebratory fireworks to launch the year, we have witnessed social media explosions on a monumental scale – many of which could have led to constructive engagement, but spiralled into witch hunts and lost opportunities.

This weekend #SparrowGate very quickly escalated into #Idolsgate after M-Net made an announcement in the early hours of Saturday morning that I would no longer be part of the judging panel...

You'll find the rest of it here: Gareth's response to Idols firing.

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