Open Chats Podcast faces backlash for racist comments, legal action on the horizon

Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie has instructed his party's legal team to prepare a response to disparaging remarks made by hosts of the Open Chats Podcast about the coloured community.

A viral clip from the podcast features the hosts making racist claims, suggesting that coloured families engage in incestuous relationships and suffer from mental health issues.

Reacting to the clip, McKenzie names members of the legal team who have been tasked with dealing with the matter. 

"I want a report today of how we are going to deal with those people who said coloureds are crazy. I want us to use everything at our disposal. Tonight, at 7pm, I will tell our people what action we are going to take. It's racism. We must never allow people to become that comfortable," he said.

McKenzie added that if coloured people made those remarks about any other race groups, it would be front page news.

The Open Chats Podcast has issued a public apology via its social media pages, regretting the incident. 

"The intention was never to cause harm or disrespect the coloured community. Open Chats is a platform centred around open conversations which does at times touch on sensitive topics, and with that said we do understand that as a platform we should conduct our conversations in a respectful manner," it said. 

The podcast hosts further stated that they do not promote or support racism or discrimination. 

The clip has been removed from the episode. 

Civil society organisation, Cape Forum, has condemned the vile and degrading comments.

Cape Forum’s executive chairperson, Heindrich Wyngaard, said they will request the South African Human Rights Commission to urgently investigate the matter.

“This type of rhetoric fuels and perpetuates damaging stereotypes that continue to marginalise Coloured communities,” he said.

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Cape Argus