The ANC Youth League is not very happy with Idols judge Gareth Cliff. In fact, they have called for him to be axed from the show. The reason: he said that the youth of Polokwane have no talent.

M-Net has issued a statement saying that they believe that there is, in fact, untapped talent in the far North. M-Net’s communications manager, Lani Lombard said in a statement:

The Idols judges are allowed to express their personal opinion, however, which is not necessarily that of M-Net, the other judges or the viewing public. The judges often disagree, but are employed because of their knowledge of the South African music and entertainment industry.

The ANC Youth League’s provincial secretary, Jacob Lebogo, demanded Cliff’s immediate dismissal, saying:

The organisers of the event must distance themselves from Mr Cliff’s madness and release him from the panel of judges. The youth must not be defocused and demoralised by Mr Cliff and others like him.

Ingrid Engelbrecht, M-Net’s publicist for Original Productions, insists that the audition was run fairly. I’m not entirely sure what she means by “fairly”, as Idols is just about the most contrived show on the face of the planet and produces mediocrity on an epic scale.

[Source : Channel24]