MNet made the announcement late last night in a statement.
M-Net announced today (Friday, 8 Jan) that Gareth Cliff will not be part of the judging panel for Idols SA Season 12, which is due to commence with countrywide auditions at the end of January 2016.
M-Net thanks Cliff for the critical role he has played in seeking out and developing new talent over the years and for contributing to the success of the show to date.
Idols SA Season 12 will be screened on M-Net’s Local Interest channel Mzansi Magic which is available to both DStv Premium and DStv Compact viewers.
The decision comes after Cliff was heavily criticized for his comments on the Penny Sparrow debacle.
Several people labelled Cliff a racist and called on M-Net to remove him from the programme.
“M-Net thanks Cliff for the critical role he has played in seeking out and developing new talent over the years and for contributing to the success of the show to date.
“Idols SA Season 12 is due to commence with countrywide auditions at the end of January 2016,” said the statement issued by M-Net. No mention was made of Cliff’s comments on social media and other platforms. Cliff has apologized for his comments.
