The Deputy Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Steve Letsike has described comments made by Podcast and Chill host, Macgyver Mukwevho popularly known as MacG towards media personality, Minnie Dlamini, as disgusting and callous.
This after he alleged that the reason behind the end of Dlamini’s past relationships is due to her genital odour.
This emerged during a recent episode of the podcast on YouTube last week.
Letsike said these utterances constitute online gender-based violence.
“These comments are nauseating in their vulgarity, and they must be regarded as an unconstitutional violation of Ms Dlamini’s rights to freedom and security of the person, equality and human dignity as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa,” Letsike expressed.
The episode sparked outrage across social media, with some calling for MacG to be cancelled, while his fans and followers whom he fondly refers to as the Chillers, came to his defence.
Civic movement, Women For Change also echoed Letsike’s outrage and called for him to be held accountable.
“The continued support and monetisation of this content is a shameful reflection of how little brands value the dignity, safety, and humanity of women in this country. The media space has become a breeding ground for hatred, sexism, and humiliation, particularly in a nation already facing a gender-based violence epidemic. We call on sponsors, streaming platforms, and the public to hold MacG and his team accountable. Enough is enough,” the organisation appealed.
Furthermore, Letsike revealed she will pursue a course of action against MacG, which includes referring his comments to the relevant bodies including the Commission for Gender Equality and the Human Rights Commission as well as the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa for investigations.
The Minister also added that MacG will be summoned to appear Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Person’s with Disabilities in line with Section 56 of the Constitution.
Meanwhile on the socials, there are continued calls for Podcasts to be licensed as more hosts use their platforms to shame and spread hate speech.
