Johannesburg High Court orders Cliff’s reinstatement

Television broadcaster M–Net confirmed on 29 January that it will reinstate Gareth Cliff as a judge on Idols SA . M-net axed Cliff as a judge in January for the comments he made on Twitter.

Cliff brought an urgent application in the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, requesting the court to order M-Net to reinstate him as Idols judge or pay him R25 million in damages for defamation of character and the termination of his contract.

Judge Caroline Nicholls ordered Cliff to be reinstated after she had concluded that there had been a contractual agreement between Cliff and the broadcaster. She added that M-Net did terminate the contract without following proper procedure.

According to reports, Cliff was not part of the preliminary auditions on 30 January but would be part of the Idols SA judging panel on 3 February.

CEO of M-Net Yolisa Phahle said in a statement released on the evening of 29 January, “As ordered by the South Gauteng High Court and as a good corporate citizen that respects the rule of law, M-Net will reinstate Mr Cilff as a judge on season 12 of Idols SA. We believe we did the right thing by taking Mr Cliff off the show. We remain committed to using our platforms to contribute to a united South Africa.”

According to reports, Cliff held a press conference on 30 January in Sandton to discuss his future plans with M-Net. Cliff’s lawyer, Dali Mpofu, said they won’t be going through with the R25-million defamation lawsuit against M-Net.

Related articles:

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M–Net responds to Gareth Cliffs lawsuit