Controversial media personality, Gareth Cliff, will go head-to-head with M-Net on Tuesday when the litigants face off in the Johannesburg High Court. By Genevieve Quintal, NewsAgency
Cliff will be fighting for his job as an Idols judge, which he lost after he waded into the race debate that exploded after Penny Sparrow called black beachgoers “monkeys”.
He is suing M-Net for R25m and wants his job back on the reality singing show after being abruptly fired.
Cliff is being represented by Economic Freedom Fighters national chairperson, Advocate Dali Mpofu.
The founder of CliffCentral came under fire after he retweeted a poll that asked if racist social media posts should be treated as criminal acts.
When he tweeted, “People really don’t understand free speech at all”, he found himself in hot water.
He has denied being racist and has thrown the book at M-Net, which broadcasts the popular show, claiming R5m for defamation of character and another R20m for breach of contract.
In its answering affidavit, M-Net said if Cliff returned to Idols it believed he would now “poison” the show. – News24
