A big Phat petition to kick Joe out of ECR
Phat Joe fans cry racism and jealousy over bid to get him fired from new radio gig for “sexist, sexual, disgusting” content.
|||A PETITION to oust the latest addition to the East Coast Radio team collected nearly 2 500 signatures in just 24 hours.
The station said all complaints would be taken seriously and dealt with “on merit”.
East Coast Radio general manager Boni Mchunu said: “We have received complaints. But we have also received numerous compliments that the show is entertaining and Phat Joe is offering something KZN radio has not been exposed to.”
Listener Hayley Going launched the campaign via Change.org in response to some of the radio discussions since he joined the station on August 15, in its 3-6pm drive-time slot.
In the letter accompanying the petition, addressed to the radio station’s owners, Kagiso Media, she accused the host of making racist comments, sharing sexual innuendo, referring to Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya as “him”, and condoning adultery.
Going said he mentioned tattooing a baby, and made jokes about rape in jail.
She said: “You (ECR) fired Kevin Minter-Brown (a former DJ) for suggesting people run on the highway (after two cyclists were killed on the M4 earlier this year), yet you allow this disgrace to carry on with his inappropriate, sexist, sexual, and just plain disgusting content.
“Kagiso Media, your vision is to Build communities for good. How is this building the community? Your presenter is inciting the community, promoting sexism, racism and child abuse. The only unity that is happening is that you are bringing people together to sign this petition to get rid of him.”
A Richards Bay resident who signed the petition said: “There is a very fine line between controversial and just plain inappropriate. Maybe a very, very late night slot would be better suited to Phat Joe, although I personally would never listen.”
Another said: “I used to always listen to the station. This oke has ruined it for me. I can’t stand listening to the fake American accent. And the content he speaks about ... I have to stop myself from setting the radio on fire.”
The DJ, via his Twitter feed, simply posted a link to the petition and said: “Why are people petitioning against me?”
This prompted his fans to jump to his defence, calling his detractors racists, “haters” and jealous.
The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa said in response to The Mercury’s queries on Wednesday: “At this stage we can confirm that we have received complaints.”
The body said it did not accept petitions, and so would not be “dealing” with the signatures collected.
According to its website, the registrar decides whether the complaint falls within the ambit of its code and will then consider it.
Mchunu said: “We are committed to being a responsible broadcaster and will respond to any complaints on an individual basis and where warranted, by merit.”
Asked about the subjects raised on the show, she said: “As a collective management team, we have directly addressed these issues. All complaints are taken seriously and dealt with individually.”
The Mercury