Veli Ngubane has stepped down as co-CCO after a viral video showed him rating two women and making objectifying comments at Cannes Lions.
Avatar Agency Group co-founder Veli Ngubane has stepped down as co-Chief Creative Officer. Picture: LinkedIn
Veli Ngubane has resigned as co-chief creative officer of Avatar Agency Group, days after a video of him making objectifying remarks to two women at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity went viral on TikTok.
In a media statement issued on Wednesday, 22 July 2026, Avatar confirmed that Ngubane “has stepped down from his role as co-chief creative officer, effective immediately”.
The agency said founder and Group CEO Zibusiso Mkhwanazi would continue to lead the business, with Phil Ireland stepping in as sole chief creative officer on an interim basis “ensuring uninterrupted service, creative excellence and continuity for our clients, our people and our partners”.
The statement added: “Avatar holds all of its people to the highest standards of professional conduct. We do not tolerate behaviour that falls short of those standards, and we act when it does.”
What happened in the video
The controversy stems from a video filmed at Cannes Lions in the South of France in late June 2026, in which content creators Coco Bassey and her sister Kay describe being repeatedly approached by an intoxicated man wearing a Cannes Lions attendee badge. Ngubane was in attendance as a jury member.
In the clip, which has since circulated widely on TikTok, the man is heard rating the women “out of 10” and telling them: “Because if I’m a 10 that means I can take you back to my hotel room, no questions asked.”
Recounting the encounter, one of the women said in the video: “It’s a very uncomfortable thing… nobody really wants to be objectified at work. And also in such a disrespectful manner.”
Her sister added that the pair had “always treated what we do like the professional job that it is,” noting they had never experienced “such an inappropriate conversation… that blatant” even in a social setting, let alone a professional one.
The women say the man became evasive once they mentioned where he worked, flipping his conference badge over on camera to obscure his details. The footage, shared on other platforms like X, LinkedIn, Instagram and WhatsApp, sparked widespread criticism online of what many described as normalised harassment in professional and networking spaces, especially in the South African advertising industry.
About Avatar
Avatar Agency Group is a black-owned creative agency that has grown from humble beginnings since its founding in 2012 into one of South Africa’s more prominent advertising houses. News of Ngubane’s exit has drawn scrutiny to the agency at a time when it is also facing broader public commentary on workplace conduct in the industry.
Separately, an X (formerly Twitter) user claiming to be the brother of television presenter Palesa Tembe, Ngubane’s former fiancée, suggested this week that the pair are no longer engaged and have not been “for a while,” posting: “And now you know why sister left this idiot.” This claim has not been independently verified.
Ngubane was also previously engaged to actor and Real Housewives of Johannesburg star Nicci Lee Watson. The pair share a young son.
The Citizen has approached both Ngubane and Tembe for comment. Neither had responded at the time of publication.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
