When I was handed Gareth Cliff’s book to read, I realised immediately what was going on. I’m not talking about the darkened underground chamber I was locked in, surrounded by sadistic publicists, or the hot coals that were being applied to my singed nipples. I refer to the words stuck between two sheets of stiff paperback.
A DA councillor has reported 5fm morning DJ Gareth Cliff to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA). The councillor, Tex Collins, was outraged at a sexist comment which he claims Gareth made to a female interviewee on air.
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.
“And you can tell everybody, he is your boyfriend.” See what I did there? Kids today can’t actually remember a time when Elton John still pretended to be straight. But times have changed, and this list of the Top 50 Gay Male Musicians includes members of Vampire Weekend, Bloc Party, and Sigur Rós.
5fm’s Gareth Cliff’s letter to the government has attracted quite a bit of attention over the past few days, with only an excerpt published here and there. We have managed to get hold of the entire letter and thought you would like to see it in its entirety – especially those of you who struggle with searching on the internet. Bless you. Gareth’s letter after the jump.
Monday evening’s episode of Idols SA was the standard mix of tepid content, low production values, and a small group of talented vocalists vainly struggling against a tide of disinterested public, average backing tracks, and of course, inebriated judges.