Gareth Cliff acused of racism, Islamophobia

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Not for the first time, Gareth Cliff has been accused of sharing racist and Islamophobic views on social media.

The former shock jock became a trending topic after he indirectly criticised Zohran Mamdani, who has been shortlisted to become New York’s first Muslim mayor.

Last year, the CliffCentral Founder was widely criticised after he called hijab-wearing Naledi Pandor a “turd”.

GARETH CLIFF ACCUSED OF RACISM, ISLAMOPHOBIA

On his X account, Gareth Cliff commented on news about New York’s prospective first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

“Woe unto New York, once my favourite city in the world”, he tweeted.

Mamdeni – a representative of the Democratic party – was born in Uganda and briefly lived in South Africa.

On X and TikTok, many South Africans reacted to Gareth Cliff’s racial undertone.

@joeareington: “Why? Is it because it now has a Muslim mayor?”

@nyusadafrika: “You’re really Islamophobic, dude. You have a phobia of anybody who is not your exact race, religion, and political beliefs/ For people to be right, they must be exactly like Gareth. Otherwise, something is wrong with them.

@thisisjbs: “Just say you hate brown people.”

@julian_fromtiktok Where was this Gareth on Piers Morgan. #mamdani #garethcliff ♬ original sound – julian_fromtiktok 🇿🇦

‘I DON’T CARE’

In November last year, Gareth Cliff courted controversy when he referred a hijab-wearing Naledi Pandor as a “turd”.

In an Instagram Story, the podcast presenter posted a pic of the former minister of international relations wearing a brown headscarf, which she wore during a media briefing in Tehran.

Gareth Cliff has defended his decision to insult minister Naledi Pandor.
Images via Instagram:
@grcliff

“When the best you can come up for Halloween is to dress up as a turd”, he captioned the image.

After being accused of racism and Islamophobia, Gareth clapped back: “To be clear, I don’t care if you’re upset or offended. Those are your problems to deal with. I’m not required to be polite or tiptoe around your emotional fragility.”