His lawyer, Eric Mabuza, confirmed that the axed Idols SA judge was suing the broadcaster for defamation of character, unfair dismissal and damages.
Cliff’s legal team handed over papers to M-Net on Friday and gave them until 2pm yesterday to respond. This comes after Cliff was fired from Idols SA just over a week ago, following Twitter comments about people not understanding freedom of speech during the Penny Sparrow controversy.
Sparrow got into trouble after writing on Facebook that black people who went to Durban’s beaches on New Year’s Day were like monkeys.
When asked how they decided on the R25 million figure, Mabuza said: “You can imagine that there are five seasons to come for Idols SA and we are expecting R4 million per season.
“That adds up to R20 million and the other R5 million is for defamation of character.”
He said Cliff’s character had been defamed, especially in light of M-Net saying his comments were not racist but were insensitive. “For Gareth it isn’t just about the money. He wants to be reinstated as a judge on the show,” said Mabuza.
Eyebrows were raised over the fact that Cliff’s co-judge, Somizi Mhlongo, was not fired after making racial comments on his Instagram page. Mabuza said if M-Net didn’t respond favourably to the lawsuit, attorney Dali Mpofu had already drafted papers to take the issue to court.
M-Net CEO Yolisa Phahle said in a statement: “M-Net can confirm that a letter of demand was received from Gareth Cliff and we are currently consulting our lawyers. We will respond to the letter of demand in due course.”
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