Minnie Dlamini drags Mac G to court over R2.5m gender-based smear
Media personality Minnie Dlamini has taken legal action against podcast duo MacGyver “Mac G” Mukwevho and Solomzi “Sol” Phenduka, dragging them to the Equality Court over claims of hate speech, unfair discrimination, and gender-based harassment.
This follows a string of offensive remarks made about her on their popular show Podcast and Chill, including an appalling suggestion by Mac G that Dlamini’s relationships may have failed due to an alleged issue with her private parts.
He further insinuated she was a gold digger who dated wealthy men for financial gain.
Although he later issued an apology, Dlamini has rejected it, calling it insincere and is now demanding R1 million in personal damages and a further R1.5 million to be donated to a women’s rights organisation.
In court documents, Dlamini detailed a history of misogynistic behavior from the hosts, pointing to an episode aired on 3 December 2021 featuring Uyajola 99 host Jub Jub.
She criticized their language, especially their use of the word “smashing” to refer to sexual encounters, arguing that such terms normalize violence against women.
“In our country, with such excruciatingly high levels of gender-based violence, often involving sexual violence, the use of this term is worse than just… insensitive,” she stated.
“It normalises and even legitimises violence in men’s acquisition of sexual satisfaction.”
She also said the presenters frequently reduce women to sex objects and cited further episodes in which they mocked her failed marriage and called her unfit to host a sports show.
“I am not ‘a real woman who knows about sports’,” she recalled them saying, alleging the attack was a response to her earlier criticism of their sexist commentary.
Dlamini expressed that the comments were not just personal but part of a wider pattern aimed at silencing women who speak out against misogyny.
“They would not have said these things about me if I were a man,” she argued, adding that she was portrayed as unfaithful and materialistic, stereotypes that continue to demean women.
Referencing an episode from May 2022, she described how the podcast discussed an alleged “hit list” of women associated with businessman Edwin Sodi, in which her name was included.
“They accused me, untruthfully, of cheating on previous partners… They accused me of being a prostitute, one of the oldest, crudest, and commonest archetypes, used to degrade women,” Dlamini stated.
Her court submission paints a picture of consistent objectification, with comments from the podcasters referring to women as “premium stock” and “always up for sale.”
Dlamini’s legal action signals a firm stand against the normalisation of gender-based slurs in public platforms under the guise of entertainment.
