Gareth Cliff threatens M-Net with R25 million lawsuit

TV and radio personality Gareth Cliff is threatening M-Net with a R25 million lawsuit for dismissing him from Idols SA.

M-Net announced Cliff would not be included in the next season, set to get underway at the end of January, over inappropriate comments during the Penny Sparrow racism row.

Cliff's lawyer, Eric Mabuza, said M-Net has until 14:00 on Monday to respond to a 'letter of demands', including Cliff's reinstatement to the judges' panel.

"If they don't do that we told them that we are going to stop the auditions for Idols... if they don't respond we'll simply serve them with court papers.

Cliff is suing the company for contractual damages, including defamation.

Mabuza said his client was not given a chance to defend his comments, while no action was taken against fellow judges guilty of similar transgressions.

In it's statement, M-Net said it did not believe that Cliff is a racist, but that his remarks showed a lack of empathy for South Africa's history. Cliff tweeted that Sparrow's remarks, in which she compared black beachgoers to monkeys, constituted  free speech.

(File photo: Gallo Images)