Key Takeaways
- Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture and Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie faced backlash on social media for old tweets containing racial slurs
- McKenzie had previously condemned a podcast for making derogatory comments about the Coloured community, but was accused of hypocrisy due to his own past comments
- The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) launched an investigation into McKenzie’s social media posts, which date back to 2012
- McKenzie responded to the accusations, claiming he was not guilty of racism, but rather had posted "insensitive, stupid, and hurtful things" in the past
- The SAHRC is yet to release its findings following the investigation into McKenzie’s social media posts
Introduction to the Controversy
The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture and Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie has historically been able to leverage the power of social media to achieve his political goals. However, in 2025, his use of social media backfired when he was placed at the mercy of the court of public opinion after social media users uncovered a number of racial slurs posted to social media several years ago. The controversy began when McKenzie took issue with an episode of the Open Chats Podcast that aired on July 21, 2025, in which the hosts made derogatory comments about the Coloured community.
The Open Chats Podcast Controversy
The hosts of the Open Chats Podcast, Methula and Kama, referred to the Coloured community as "mentally crazy" and said that "Coloured siblings chow (have sex with) each other." McKenzie took to social media to announce that his party would be exhausting all its legal resources to determine what action could be taken against the hosts. In a letter of demand posted to X (formerly Twitter), the party’s legal team stated that the hosts’ comments "constitute hate speech" and "unlawfully impair the dignity of a protected group." McKenzie also escalated the matter to MultiChoice, which he said displayed the podcast’s content on its platforms, and as a result, MultiChoice decided not to renew its contract with the show.
Backlash Against McKenzie
However, following McKenzie’s reaction to the podcasters’ comments, social media users found his actions hypocritical, pointing to Twitter posts containing the k-word slur from over a decade prior. Many of the political parties that had been in support of the PA’s condemnation of the comments made on the Open Chats Podcast then applied the same sentiment to McKenzie’s actions. This included ActionSA, which referred McKenzie’s comments to the SAHRC. The SAHRC said that the posts, which date back as far as 2012, "are prima facie violations of the Equality Act," and that it would be investigating them.
Investigation into McKenzie’s Social Media Posts
The SAHRC launched an investigation into McKenzie’s social media posts, which were deemed to be prima facie evidence of wrongdoing. The Commission’s Commissioner, Professor Tshepo Madlingozi, said that the use of the slur has been deemed unlawful in South Africa, with the Constitutional Court saying that the word is "completely unutterable." ATM’s Parliamentary leader, Vuyo Zungula, lodged a complaint against McKenzie with the Presidency, Parliament, and the Joint Committee on Ethics, calling for an urgent investigation into his remarks. However, Parliament’s spokesperson, Molotho Mothapo, said that McKenzie would not be probed because his comments were made before becoming an MP.
McKenzie’s Response
McKenzie responded to the accusations, claiming that he "could never be guilty of racism" but was guilty of posting "insensitive, stupid, and hurtful things" a decade or two ago. He took issue with the SAHRC’s statement that the racist tweets are prima facie evidence of wrongdoing and that it suggested what the penalties could or should be, making itself "the prosecutor, the judge, the jury, the sentencer and the executioner." McKenzie said that the SAHRC’s public comments "pale into insignificance…against the public harm" they caused him. He accused the SAHRC of "join[ing] itself to a political campaign against" him, which ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has co-opted.
Conclusion
The controversy surrounding McKenzie’s social media posts has sparked a heated debate about racism and free speech in South Africa. While McKenzie has apologized for his past comments, the SAHRC’s investigation is ongoing, and the outcome is still uncertain. The incident highlights the importance of being mindful of the impact of one’s words, particularly for public figures, and the need for accountability and consequences for hateful speech. As the SAHRC’s investigation continues, it remains to be seen how this controversy will unfold and what implications it will have for McKenzie and the broader political landscape in South Africa.