Phat Joe returns to radio after being off air for nearly three weeks

After being off air for nearly three weeks, Phat Joe made a return to the airwaves on Monday morning, to the excitement of fans who celebrated like Christmas had come early.

The SABC confirmed to TshisaLIVE earlier this month that the Radio 2000 breakfast host had been "unscheduled until further notice" in the wake of backlash over his comments about the LGBTIQ+ community.

The star had weighed in on a debate around comments made by Zodwa Wabantu claiming that gay people were too dramatic and "forget that they don't have vaginas".

Sharing this thoughts, Joe allegedly asked why gay men would not accept how hard it was "for most people to accept their lifestyle".

His comments drew backlash from the LGBTIQ+ community, who welcomed the SABC's decision. Others shared their disappointment at the move.

In response to a complaint lodged with the BCCSA, the SABC said that despite Joe apologising to a listener and sharing his own experiences, they felt the matter could have been dealt with better and took action against Joe.

Besides pulling him off air, the broadcaster said it had held workshops with all its talent and production teams to "retrain them on the BCCSA Code, the Broadcast Act and SABC editorial policies to ensure that there is no recurrence".

Joe offered an apology on air during his show on Monday and soon became a massive talking point on social media as fans weighed in on his return.