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- The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) has received multiple complaints following an episode of Phat Joe’s new dinner show. Cheeky palate.
- On the episode, two guests made homophobic comments.
- MultiChoice has removed the episode from its DStv Catch Up service.
The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) has received multiple complaints about homophobic comments made on Phat Joe’s new TV dinner show on M-Net’s 1Magic (DStv 103).
On the latest Phat Joe TV show, Cheeky palateProduced by Connect TV with Basetsana Kumalo serving as executive producer and aired Friday night, the host’s dinner guests, Gerry Rantseli Elsdon and Joshua Maponga, made statements condemning homosexuality as a sin.
Neither the show nor 1Magic offered any counterpoint or balance during the broadcast that quickly turned into homophobia. Other guests on the episode were Nobuntu Webster, Gogo Dineo, and Zwai Bala. Phat Joe himself was suspended in 2019 from his Radio 2000 show on homophobic comments.
The BCCSA said Channel24 on Tuesday that so far he had received five complaints about Cheeky palate and that these have been sent to MultiChoice and M-Net, who will now have to provide a copy of the broadcast and their comment.
By Tuesday, it appeared that the episode was abruptly removed from MultiChoice’s DStv Now Catch Up service. It is unclear if reruns of Cheeky Palate have been removed from the 1Magic schedule, and MultiChoice, which was asked if broadcasts on the channel were removed, did not answer the question.
A media inquiry to 1Magic, a channel produced in-house by M-Net, was passed on to MultiChoice. MultiChoice, in response to the media inquiry, said that “The first episode featured guests from different walks of life, who were invited to speak about their experiences and thoughts on spirituality.”
“We acknowledge the concerns expressed by some viewers who may have been offended by some of the opinions expressed on the show, particularly around the LGBTIQ + community. The opinions expressed are not those of MultiChoice, which embraces diversity, equality and inclusion”.
