There and back again, a Gareth Cliff tale

Penny Sparrow’s disturbing and repugnant views on race may have been the social media post that launched a thousand Twitter canoes, but amidst the important debate that followed, a tweet by radio jock and Idols judge Gareth Cliff on free speech wound up getting him booted off Idols as a judge.

Cliff responded by taking M-Net to court, demanding his job back and R25-million for defamation and breach of contract. His lawyer Dali Mpofu argued Cliff’s axing was the worst form of racism, while M-Net’s Wim Trengrove said the broadcaster did not have a contract with him.

By week's end, Judge Caroline Nicholls in the High Court in Johannesburg ruled in Cliff’s favour, stating “This is a contractual dispute. The contractual relationship has to be reinstated to what it was. M-Net will pay costs to Gareth Cliff.”

With the Idols 2016 auditions expected to begin in Durban on Saturday, will viewers really see Cliff back in the hot seat? Awkward much?

Nicki Minaj coming to SA … for realsies

After a false start in 2014 where she was expected to perform at the ill-fated TribeOne Festival in Pretoria, it was announced this week that singer/rapper/actor Nicki Minaj is finally heading to South Africa this March. Set to perform in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, Minaj will light up the Ticketpro Dome, Moses Mabhida Stadium and Grand West Arena on Tuesday, 17 March, Saturday 20 March and Tuesday, 22 March.

For Minaj’s many fans in South Africa who have patiently waited for this top-selling artist to grace our shores, they are finally getting their just deserts. With no municipalities involved, this time, Minaj fans can rest at ease.  

All for One Direction and One Direction for … Pillow Talk?

Remember that band One Direction? Five guys who went on to a talent show, got put together, and went on to to conquer the music world? Well, the one member that ended up getting away, Zayn Malik, released his first single on Friday, 29 January called Pillow Talk. This was days after his former band released the third single off their fifth album Made in the A.M., History. Awkward much? 

Malik’s video features supermodel/How Deep Is Your Love-participant/rumoured girlfriend Gigi Hadid. Judging by the Twitterati’s reaction, it’s raw, dirty and very much about what 1D very carefully hint at but never touch: sex.

If Malik sought to make himself distinct from his former band, and if saying in his first post-1D video interview that he knew after just one year 1D wasn’t right for him, we all get it now. Malik has some chutzpah, that’s for sure.

A silver lining for SA cricket

The last few months for the South African Test cricket team have not been good ones. A 3-0 hammering at the hands of India on the sub-continent in November last year ended a nine-year run without defeat in an away series, and upon returning home to face England, the Proteas lost the series 2-1.

South Africa were soundly beaten in Durban and Johannesburg, and managed to salvage a draw in Cape Town. However, it was in Centurion that the team appeared to have regained some of their mojo, led by 20-year-old pace bowler Kagiso “KG” Rabada.

Rabada took 13 wickets for 144 runs, the second best match figures in South Africa’s Test match history, among other statistical feats, in a lop-sided win for the Proteas.
 
South African cricket has been in the news for the wrong reasons recently, so it’s rather pleasant to see some good news on the field isn’t it? Well played young man.