‘Lord Gayton’ trending after crackdown on superfans

Clarence Ford speaks with Barbara Friedman about this and other stories trending online.

Listen to the interview in the audio below.

‘Lord Gayton’ and Mama Joy are trending online after the Minister’s announcement that the Sports, Arts and Culture Department will no longer pay for superfans' trips.

Gayton McKenzie tweeted that they cannot be paying for trips for fans while athletes struggle to raise money to compete.

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One of the people who will be most affected by this is ‘Mama Joy,’ a superfan who famously attends many major sporting events for the country internationally.

Some people have supported this decision, saying that the athletes should get priority funding over fans.

However, others say she is an ambassador for the South African brand, and it is unfair to stop sending her to these events.

In addition to cracking down on superfans, McKenzie is also making a very personal contribution to arts and culture.

He shared on social media that he has instructed his lawyers to pay over his entire first salary to three artists at a particular gallery.

“I do like that it is not just about sport, he is actually trying to help artists who really do struggle.” 

– Barbara Friedman, Digital Content Editor

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.