I tolerated hate speech – Cliff

Sphelele Ngubane

JOHANNESBURG: Controversial media personality Gareth Cliff – who stirred up Twitter by saying people did not understand free speech when referring to Penny Sparrow’s racist comments – has acknowledged that what he had “tolerated” as free speech over the years was actually “hate speech”.

“Over the years I have taken a lot of abuse for my views – I’ve even received death threats. I’ve always regarded this as an exercise of freedom of speech – in a country where freedom of speech had not existed prior to 1994. In the light of #Sparrowgate and the ensuing controversy, I have come to understand that what I have been tolerating is hate speech,” he said.

This came after people called for M-Net to exclude him from being a judge in the next season of the popular Idols SA show, which starts this month.

Since the start of the week, social media has been buzzing with anger from people lashing out at public figures who made statements that were perceived to be racist after the Sparrow saga.

In a blog entry he posted yesterday, Cliff said: “I certainly appreciate the need to obtain greater clarity on what the limits of free speech and the parameters of hate speech really are.”

He said he was grateful that high-profile figures like Pinky Khoabane, Sizwe Dhlomo, Professor Jonathan Jansen, advocate Dali Mpofu and DJ Fresh sought to constructively engage him on the matter.

“We all know that there are blurred lines in the sensitive context of race relations in South Africa. At this moment, I feel disappointed in how the conversation sometimes gets hijacked by angry and emotional people on Twitter, who have no desire to add value.

“We should not be deterred from continuing the discussions we need to have to build a better South Africa,” he said.

He ended his entry by saying: “When the dust settles, I hope that we can engage constructively – tell our stories, share our ideas and listen to each other. Don’t be bullied. Don’t tolerate racism. Let’s keep talking.”