Metro FM Bosses gag popular presenters

Presenters at MetroFM are learning to keep their opinions to themselves - on and off the air - after several suspensions following comments deemed inappropriate by the station's bosses.

Five presenters - Phat Joe, Pearl Thusi, Mpho Maboi, Rams Mabote and Tbo Touch - have been temporarily "unscheduled" this year.

"You can be suspended for not liking a colleague - that is how things are at MetroFM," said a radio host who works for the SABC station this week.

The latest to be "unscheduled" are sports anchor Maboi and talkshow host Mabote - who, according to sources at the station, "are yet to get an explanation of why they are not able to continue working".

Maboi said she couldn't comment and Mabote did not respond to messages.

But a source at the station said: "Mpho has been suspended for a tweet she made about not caring about Lerato Kganyago, while Rams has been accused of speaking on behalf of the station in a profile interview that was published last week."

Maboi, who reports for afternoon show The Great Escape with Pearl Modiadie and Amon Mokoena, was caught in a sticky situation during the "body-shaming" backlash against True Love magazine for its "over-photoshopped" front cover featuring her colleague Kganyago last month.

During the Twitter frenzy on May 23, Maboi tweeted: "I don't care much for that woman but I still will call out what TL did to her cos that could've been any of us ... Not cool."

Kganyago retweeted the tweet but when tabloid Sunday World led with a story of the two women having a "beef", it led to Maboi's suspension the following Tuesday.

"She has been off work for over a week now. Next week it will be two weeks and they haven't told her what she said or did wrong," said the source.

"It's no lie the two women don't get along - they don't even greet each other - but Mpho was defending Lerato, which is where the suspension gets confusing."

In his interview with Sunday World late last month, Mabote, who hosts Talk With Rams on Mondays and Tuesdays between 7pm and 9pm, made a comment about the SABC canning his interview with Minnie Dlamini scheduled for May 30.

Dlamini was set to discuss personal finance and the dangers of bad debt.

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Mabote told Sunday World: "As a hard-core current affairs animal, I had five minutes of broken ego after it was cancelled.

"But I am happy that we have managed to come up with this idea of presenting personal finance in a unique way."

According to sources, the station's management felt that "he spoke on behalf of the radio station, resulting in his suspension".

In January this year, weekend breakfast hosts Pearl Thusi and Phat Joe were suspended for reportedly "constantly bashing" fellow MetroFM presenter Bonang Matheba.

They were taken off air for more than three weeks after mocking Matheba's reported romantic relationship with rapper AKA on their weekly show, The Real Phat Joe.

Last month, the host of afternoon drive show Touchdown, Thabo "Tbo Touch" Molefe, was also taken off air for a week.

Molefe reportedly got into a physical confrontation with one of the show's producers and the SABC reportedly lost at least R15-million in advertising because he refused to read a Hyundai advert on air.

Mabote and Maboi "are not scheduled to be on air for now", said SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago .

"The SABC is not at liberty to divulge the details of this decision as the matter is between them and MetroFM management. We will communicate further if there is a need."