The furore over the Open Chats Podcast continues following a clip that went viral where the hosts made very offensive and racially insensitive comments about the Coloured community, saying:
“Coloureds chow each other, they sleep with their cousins” and referring to them as “crazy.”
The reaction has been immediate, with South Africans demanding accountability, legal recourse, and the podcast being taken off all platforms instantly.
Public Reaction: “Apology Isn’t Enough”
Some fans have rallied around the hosts after they issued an apology, but most South Africans are not accepting.
A Lepantsula/Lekompo tweet was an attempt to pour oil into the waters by stating:
“The boys have apologized guys. Give them another chance. Open Chats podcast is the best in South Africa.”
But the sentiment online is that the apology is too late.
Lerato Pillay, a popular public figure, struck back at them:
“Open Chats podcast is in some serious kak! If it was me, I’d record a few videos apologising. Phone calls to the Coloured community, apologising. Gayton won’t play. And they actually have been unfair to the Coloured community.”
The second post by Jesse F. Jacobs compared with previous cases:
“@DStv MacG’s Podcast and Chill programme was cancelled for what he said regarding Minnie Dlamini. We expect the same energy with Open Chats Podcast for their blatant racist remarks.”
Legal Action in Progress
On Wednesday, Patriotic Alliance mayoral candidate for Tshwane Liam Jacobs laid a criminal complaint at Brooklyn Police Station in Pretoria. Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie vowed to lay the charges in the name of the Coloured community, terming the comments “hateful and defamatory.”
DSTV Pulls the Plug
To the relief of many, DSTV has confirmed that it removed the Open Chats Podcast from its platform on Thursday, 7 August. The broadcaster noted:
We do not condone racism and have removed the podcast instantly from our platform.
It follows growing calls for action, and more fundamentally questions how racist material slips through editorial doors in the first place.
Political & Social Fallout
ANC, EFF, and other political parties also condemned the remarks, urging members of the public not to accord space to platforms living on racial mockery and hate speech.
Cultural commentators are calling this a reckoning for the local podcasting industry. Some argue that the lack of regulation in the world of podcasting is permitting toxic discourse to gain traction unchecked.
The Bigger Picture
This scandal is not just a horrible take. It goes to highlight starkly the representation of the Coloured citizenry in the media in South Africa, repeatedly boiled down to caricature, crime, and now—incest humor.
Although the hosts have supposedly apologized, their words have done deep harm—and many feel that this isn’t about a single podcast, but cultural ignorance unchecked in South African media.
As the public outcry grows, one thing’s for sure: South Africans no longer have patience for artists who profit from other people’s pain.
FOMO will be following this developing story closely. Stay up to date on socials.
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