‘Too many vowels, too awkwardly placed’ - JP Smith under fire for not pronouncing African surname
The City of Cape Town's MEC for Safety JP Smith has come under fire for stating he would not pronounce an African name at the City of Cape Town Film engagement on Wednesday.
Smith was delivering a keynote address when said he would not attempt to pronounce Abongile Nzelenzele's surname.
Nzelenzele was the MC at the event.
"To our MC Abongile, I am not even going to try that surname dude. There are too many vowels and it's too awkwardly placed, you need to get a short compact one like me, Smith," he joked.
LISTEN HERE:
Many have taken to social media saying Smith was not only disrespectful, but also racist.
How do you actually say this out loud?
— It's a-me, Brandon! (@i_likebrandon) September 8, 2021
What does he do when he gets to the Nguni languages in our national anthem with far more complex words? Does he just pause?
• How are you a politician and grew up here and don't bother to familiarize yourself with the pronunciation of the names of other cultures..?!
— Days LikeThis (@coryi6) September 8, 2021
• This is a reflection of the level of interest these guys have in their people. The same people who they are entrusted to serve. ?!
I am certain the entire crowd did, I absolutely feel for the MC; would most definitely have met this racism with the same energy. Just no.
— Keagen Gertse 🇿🇦 (@keagenj_) September 8, 2021
That is just rude. He could have practiced, 5 mins tops.
— Aphiwe (@Aph1we) September 8, 2021
The City has since taken to Twitter; stating that Nzelenzele did not take offense.
"Good day, The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith has called and spoken with Mr. Nzelenzele. He confirms that he took no offense at the remark, nor did Mr. Nzelenzele think there was any ill intent. Thank you," the Tweet said
Some are calling on Smith to apologise.
This is how micro aggressive racism looks like. Stupid silly jokes about our African surnames. We have a history here of black people having to have "white" names like Heather & Kirsten just to go to school. Because our names were "too hard to pronounce". This is unacceptable!
— #EnglishAunt (@AyandaTankiso) September 8, 2021
Going on to say that it should be short like his "Smith" - this is definitely unacceptable and there should definitely be an apology from JP Smith. There is no place for such statements in a "free" South Africa.
— Aliasgher Janmohammed (@beingaliasgher) September 8, 2021