Generations actor called ‘Ugly’ on air
Cape Town – Generations actor Maggie Benedict who plays film-maker Akhona in the famous soapie was allegly called ugly live on-air by YFM breakfast host Mo Flava infringing her right to dignity, reported
According to the newspaper, Listener Andrew Maringa laid a complainant with the Broadcast Complainants Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) when he heard the radio DJ say Benedict was ugly numerous times.
“I was listening to the radio in the morning and they were busy going on about how ugly Maggie Benedict, who plays Akhona Miya on Generations, is. This has been going on for some time now (it happened three times already in the time I was listening),” he said.
‘They merely implied’
YFM programmes manager Diaho Mohaneng refuted the claims made by the listener. She responded:
“For the record, our breakfast team did not refer to Maggie Benedict (Akhona) as an ugly-looking person. They merely implied that she has a resemblance to UK pop star Estelle.
“We uphold the dignity of all people at all times. We have well trained and responsible broadcasters who are well versed in the Broadcasting Code.”
The BCCSA also threw out the complainant as it was brought by a third party and not by Benedict.
“The complaint in our view concerns the dignity of a person and we would like to advise that BCCSA Tribunals found in previous cases that complaints involving the privacy and dignity of people other than the complainant (Akhona) are difficult to judge since we do not know what the person’s reaction might have been,” BCCSA Registar Shouneez Martin said.
