Radio Review

For more than three weeks, Yfm has been hounded by the print media, particularly the Sunday press, over Chilli M and the Essential Rush.The questions were firstly, why has Chilli been suspended; secondly, why has he been fired; and many other allegations which are too defamatory to repeat. Now, the latest is: “we understand that Chilli is in rehab and that Yfm is paying for it.”

The fact of the matter is that Chilli M has been working the Essential Rush non-stop since April 2006. During this time, he has turned the Essential Rush into Yfm’s biggest show with more than 600 000 listeners tuning in every week. Chilli needed a break. He has taken leave until the end of August. He came back from his leave briefly to join the rest of the team for our annual lekgotla in Pilanesberg, and is now down in the Western Cape for the next few weeks.

The press have asked us whether Chilli is in rehab. Let’s be perfectly clear about the laws of the country. As employers, we have no right to go into any personal details around any of our employees whether or not it is true. So even if it was true that Chilli is in rehab, and I am not saying he is, we as Yfm would not be able to comment on this. 

What we can say categorically as Yfm is that we have a zero tolerance policy toward any illegal practice, including substance abuse, and that all deejays have this in their contracts. If Chilli had been before a disciplinary process and found guilty, he would have been fired. None of this has happened.

The problem is that when the press ask us the question, whether we say yes or no or no comment, they will print it anyway. We must ask whose interests are being served by these rumours and whether such stories help us build a better nation.

Kanthan Pillay
Chief Executive

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Filed under: Uncategorized and tagged Chilli M, Essential Rush, Kanthan Pillay, YFM