Media personality Minnie Dlamini says comments made about her on MacG’s podcast caused serious professional and financial consequences, including the collapse of a Nivea deal valued at R897,000.
In a 79-page submission lodged last month at the equality court of the Johannesburg high court, Dlamini outlines the alleged effect of the April 2025 episode of Podcast and Chill on her reputation, career, income and mental health.
She is claiming R2.5 million in damages from MacGyver Mukwevho, better known as MacG. Of that amount, R1.5 million would go to nonprofit organisation Women for Change, while R1 million would be awarded to Dlamini personally.
Dlamini says her work relies on public confidence and on companies feeling secure about associating their products with her name, appearance and public image. She identifies the Nivea campaign as the most direct example of the alleged financial fallout.
The Nivea deal and its collapse
- Dlamini says her partnership with Nivea began around 2023 and continued across several campaigns. Toward the end of 2024 and into early 2025, she promoted products such as Nivea Radiant & Beauty, Even Glow and Rich Nourishing Lotion.
- She says the relationship had grown into a significant business arrangement. Dentsu Creative CPT, the agency managing the work, allegedly supplied extensive input on scripts, captions, voice-overs, product presentation and the planned content.
- On or around April 7 2025, Dentsu sent her representatives a proposed Radiant & Beauty package. It included half-day appearances, Instagram reels, Instagram carousel posts and exclusivity within the body-care sector. Her team accepted the proposal later that month, subject to changes to the rates.
- Dentsu later confirmed plans for an activation at Mall of Africa and told her representatives it was “excited to kick off the campaign with Minnie”.
- A formal influencer contract was then concluded, Dlamini says. It listed a total campaign fee of R897,000 and covered four Instagram reels, three half-day mall activations and one half-day e-commerce appearance. The payments were scheduled across eight months.
- The timing became significant because, around April 24 2025, Mukwevho’s podcast broadcast the episode in which derogatory remarks were made about Dlamini’s body and genital hygiene.
- The remarks triggered a substantial response on social media, where users repeated and circulated the allegations. Dlamini says the controversy was especially damaging because it unfolded while she was working on a campaign for a company involved in skincare, body care and personal care.
- The Mall of Africa event still took place on May 1. Soon afterwards, however, Dlamini says the broader campaign started to fall apart. Meetings were either delayed or cancelled, and her team repeatedly contacted Dentsu for an explanation.
In the response to the dispute, it was stated that the remarks were speculative, were not intended to harm Dlamini and were not presented as established facts or sincerely held beliefs.
On June 2, Dlamini’s statement says, Dentsu representatives spoke to her team about the controversy involving Mukwevho. They allegedly said the matter had become a concern for Nivea and its parent company, Beiersdorf.
Dentsu also allegedly said Nivea had requested information and background about the controversy, while its global operation was tracking references to the brand through a social-listening platform.
Dlamini says the agency then advised her that Nivea would not continue with her, giving a budget revision as the reason. She challenges that account, arguing that the project was already well advanced, the commercial terms had been agreed, the budget had been discussed and approved, and she had completed work under the contract.
She further claims that Nivea continued to feature other influencers in Radiant & Beauty campaigns.
“The timing speaks for itself,” Dlamini says in her filing, contending that Mukwevho’s remarks caused an online backlash only weeks before the brand decided against proceeding with her.
Mukwevho’s response
Mukwevho says he is willing to take steps aimed at settling the dispute. In his answering affidavit, he acknowledges that Podcast and Chill can make errors and notes that the programme has apologised in the past when mistakes occurred.
He also says he would consider attending gender-sensitisation sessions as part of a mediation process.
“The comments were speculative in nature and were not meant to cause any harm to her. The comments were not said as a known fact or belief,” his affidavit says.
Mukwevho maintains that he has already given Dlamini a sincere apology. He says he is prepared to change or correct it if she believes it is inadequate, and remains open to mediation.
Alleged long-term personal and professional harm
Dlamini says the legal dispute extends beyond the April 2025 broadcast. Her complaint also cites earlier tensions, including remarks Mukwevho allegedly made about her private parts in 2022.
She argues that the recurrence of such attacks produced an ongoing pattern of damage affecting both her private life and her career.
Dlamini says she was effectively “blackballed” within entertainment circles, claiming that some industry professionals became hesitant to work with her and that potential brand partners may have been discouraged from approaching her.
She also says the lasting availability of podcast material has intensified the alleged harm. Clips and full episodes remain online well after release and can continue accumulating millions of views.
Following the April 2025 episode, Dlamini says she suffered intense anxiety and stayed inside her home for roughly a month. She says the hygiene-related comments made her feel ashamed and self-conscious about an issue she had never previously worried about.
Her mother, Gloria Queen Dlamini, submitted a witness statement about the effect of the controversy on her daughter and their family.
Gloria describes Dlamini as an important provider for the household. She says her daughter supported the family through difficult financial periods, contributing to renovations, purchases and recurring monthly expenses.
As a result, Gloria says the family depends on Dlamini not only for emotional support but also on her ability to protect her reputation and keep earning an income.
She recalls receiving a call from her daughter after the episode aired. Gloria says Dlamini was crying and asked: “Mommy, what am I going to do? How am I going to face the world?”
