We need to ask ECR why they hired Phat Joe - some research by a lovely lady has revealed the following information....previous complaints and warnings issued to Phat Joe before his firing from other stations. So my question to ECR is this, you knew he had a history of making stupid, sexual and completely inappropriate comments on air and yet you put him in a slot where there are young children in the car. The drive time. Why? What are the hidden agendas here? And why are you continuing to ignore ALL the emails addressed to you Boni? Because this seems to be the new way of dealing with this. Ignore us and hope we go away. Other stations suspended him when listeners called in and complained about his Caster remarks - yet he is still on our airwaves and calling our national hero "Him"......Why? Please read the snippet from the article: (and it seems he rehashes old topics!) #phatjoemustgo **************************************************************************** Phat Joe is among South Africans whose ability to attract controversy is unmatched. Down the years Phat Joe has attracted numerous controversies. Remarks on King Goodwill Zwelithini KaBhekuzulu Phat Joe had to issue an apology to the king of the Zulus; this was after the king’s fleet of official cars was taken away by the KwaZulu-Natal government with the promise of updating it. During the opening of his show, The Phat Joe Show, he joked about how on his recent trip to Durban he spotted King Goodwill Zwelithini KaBhekuzulu on a pavement, thumb in the air, hitching a lift from passing motorists. Phat Joe went on to advise the king to buy a second hand Uno with the 150 lobola cattle he was expecting from the then impending marriage of his two daughters as reported by Sunday Sun at the time. His jokes were met with harsh criticism and rebuke, especially from the Zulus who expressed their displeasure with his disrespectful jokes made at the expense of the king. Inkatha Freedom Party provincial member of parliament (at the time), Blessed Gwala,was quoted saying “He has insulted the Zulu nation and the royal family by creating a joke about Isilo Samabandla the king and his princesses. I nearly fainted when I saw him uttering such an insult against our king. We demand the SABC do something about him now or ban the show. As the Zulu nation we greatly respect our monarch and are not going to tolerate Phat Joe’s comments. I suspect he has become too white in a sense that he can treat blacks so insignificantly”. Phat Joe’s apology read: “It is unfortunate that last night’s programme’s reference to His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini has been interpreted in the light it has. It was never my intention to show any disrespect to His Majesty and I apologise unreservedly for any ill feelings that may have arisen from this. “I was making light of an issue which was addressed extensively in the media over the weekend. It was not done in a harmful or disrespectful manner. On the Phat Joe Show we draw attention to, laugh at and make fun of many things the newspapers have to say. “I think it’s important to know that my mother is Zulu and I would never insult any culture. I respect both the Zulu monarch and Zulu culture. I was not trying to be malicious”. “I hope that in future we may have His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini as a guest on the show and profile him, as he is an influential member of our society. We have been in communication with His Majesty’s office in this regard”. Remarks on his working experience at e.tv Phat Joe was quoted saying e.tv was “like Afghanistan being run by the Taliban”. This has been cited as controversial particularly because, supposedly, at the time the e.tv management was largely Indian. It was also been reported that some executives at e.tv considered his remarks as a racial slur. Alleged Feud with Felicia Mabuza-Suttle Phat Joe reportedly repeated ridiculed Felicia Mabuza-Suttle on his show, The Phat Joe Show. Phat Joe and his comedian colleagues on The Phat Joe show reportedly made fun of the liposuction surgery she (Felicia Mabuza-Suttle) underwent a few years earlier. Felicia Mabuza-Suttle commented “It is good when comedians talk about you. It gives more visibility to the Felicia brand. All I ask is that they continue to make people laugh but they should be respectful of adults and our icons”. Remarks on the Caster Semenya Saga Caster Semenya famously ran to victory so far ahead of the competitors during the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and secured a 800 metre gold medal. After her victory questions were raised about her gender. The IAAF subjected Caster Semenya to a gender test which led to an international debacle and the accusations of violations of her human rights and racism. Then SA President Leonard Chuene also admitted to having subjected Caster Semenya to gender tests. The Australian media Phat Joe was quoting on his show reported that Caster Semenya had underdeveloped internal testes instead of ovaries and a womb, however, Phat Joe kept repeating that Caster Semenya had testicles. Furthermore, Phat Joe was quoted as having said “Could it be at this point she has not had her period? She should have known that something was wrong; or is she still waiting for her period?” He went on to say “To some extent, she should have known that something is not 100 percent right, she was still waiting for her period perhaps? Did she cheat when she left those women (behind) in Germany? Why is it possible that she could not have known that she is not 100 percent female?” Numerous listeners called in and edged Phat Joe to practice restrained and show sensitivity towards Caster Semenya and her family but he failed to heed the call. Following the incident then Kaya FM station general manager was quoted saying “The position is not to exacerbate; her rights have already been violated. We all know that Joe is a loose cannon and his show is edgy, but there are limits”. Phat Joe was suspended from air after the listeners called and complained that his remarks were harsh. Phat Joe never returned from suspension, he was fired after the station received further complaints expressing disapproval on how he had handled the Caster Semenya situation. The Fallout in the Wake of his Dismissal from Kaya FM Phat Joe turned to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to challenge his dismissal but the CCMA ruled in favour of the station. He took the matter to the Labour Court in a bid to have the CCMA ruling overturned but he was once against unsuccessful. It was during this period that further details about Phat Joe’s dismissal were revealed: In January 2009 Phat Joe reportedly received a warning from then content manager Neil Johnson about “gratuitous smut, sexual innuendo and partisan politicking” He was accused by the station of breaching broadcasting legislation by running competitions in which contestants were made to eat cat food and drink his urine on air. In early 2009 Phat Joe predicted that President Jacob Zuma would be raped to the station management’s dismay. ******************************************************************************