Popular television host, film director and radio presenter, Dineo Ranaka has reportedly been suspended by South African Broadcasting Corporation owned Metro FM for inappropriate workplace conduct and Black SA Twitter is in shock.
Why Dineo Ranaka is suspended
On the 14th of January 2022, a dance challenge #UmlandoChallenge sparked a series of dance videos on social media. Dineo Ranaka posted her own #UmlandoChallenge video where she dances to the Amapiano hit, Mlando, on top of furniture inside the Aukland Park SABC studios. The creator of the popular reality television show The Ranakas who has 1,4 million fans on Twitter, another 1,1 million followers on Instagram an army of 133,000 on TikTok may have thrilled her social media fans but Metro FM were unimpressed.
On the 18th of January, City Press reported that SAFTA nominated TV presenter Dineo Ranaka, whose show The Ranakas recently returned for another season on Mzansi Magic, has been suspended and removed from the Metro FM roster.
In July last year, the opinionated radio presenter announced the birth of her third child. There was further good news for the Ranaka clan when The Ranakas entered its fifth season on DSTV this January. In 2021, just days after her December 16th birthday, the 38 year old Dineo Ranaka endured social media criticism for her F-word infused soliloquy aimed at ex partner, Sechaba Thole which went viral.
https://twitter.com/khawula_musa/status/1473207568965193729
Is suspension justified?
Metro FM only gives its employees a very short leash. The no-nonsense broadcaster sacked the hugely popular Somizi Mhlongo and DJ Fresh. Other media houses and television production companies have fired actors for misdeeds which occurred in private lives, Sthembiso SK Khoza being the most recent example who was sacked from The Queen Mzansi for alleged violence on his fiancée. So from a suit-and-tie perspective, the suspension of Dineo Ranaka, whose misconduct took place in the heart of the studio, seems a fair decision.
But here is a question to put to Metro FM:
Was Dineo Ranaka not hired to entertain the station’s fans?
Radio personalities and all employees in the creative sector are rarely conformists. Artistic talent comes with eccentricity. Ranaka was nominated for a SAFTA (for Mzansi Magic show YimLo) from this unconventional streak she possesses. Anyone who has worked in a studio should expect arm tattoos, green hair, nose rings and people dancing on furniture. This is the very trait that employers look for in a radio presenter.
Was Ranaka not hired to entertain the station’s fans – rhetorical. Metro FM would struggle to identify even one radio listener who objects to a dancing presenter. Does Metro FM expect its presenters to behave like straight-laced chartered accountants?
Model, actress, entrepreneur and television presenter, Pearl Thusi, who herself is a former Metro FM employee has come out in support of Ranaka. Not only did Thusi offer support to Ranaka but she also described Metro FM as a “toxic” work place.
https://twitter.com/PearlThusi/status/1483730039535460353?s=20
https://twitter.com/PearlThusi/status/1483739651366178817?s=20
Watch Dineo Ranaka’s dance below. You decide if her suspension is justified.
https://twitter.com/_djmosh/status/1483674135649828866?s=27
Till next time, my pen is capped
Connect with the writer on Twitter @RewindMzansi
