Nandos SA has come under heavy criticism on social media for their sponsorship of the Cliff central show, The Burning platform hosted by Gareth Cliff.
Following a racism debacle which erupted on the latest episode of The Burning Platform in which Cliff told one of the guests on the show, One South Africa Movement, Mudzuli Rakhivhane, that her personal experience on racism was unimportant and anecdotal on the 21st of October 2021.
Gareth Cliff’s statement has caused uproar on social media with many people labelling the show as racist and going as far as calling for South Africans to boycott Nandos SA for their association with the show on twitter. “It is amazing and shocking that black South Africans will still go and support businesses like @NandosSA who sponsor these racist shows.
Failing to link racism to why Black South Africans go to bed on empty stomach is simply ignorant and arrogant on the part of @cliffcentralpod”, “I will no longer buy anything from @NandosSA I encourage all South Africans who stand for a safe, respectful, inclusive, equitable, just, prosperous, and anti-racist democracy and business culture to do the same. #NoToRacism”, “Gareth Cliff is a vile Dis****ing P**** of S***. Is this what Nandos SA is sponsoring now?”, read some of the tweets.
Nandos SA has since responded to the allegations on their official twitter page saying that they will never invalidate anyone’s experiences nor do they condone any form of racism. “We know that you know what happened in the exchange between the panellists on The Burning Platform on 21st October 2021. We are a proudly South African brand that takes the right to freedom of speech very seriously. We do not, and will never invalidate anyone’s experiences or condone racism in any form, we are taking this serious matter under review,” read the tweet.
