Gayton McKenzie responds to allegations he lied about his racial identity

Gayton McKenzie responded to allegations that he “lied” about his racial background. The Patriotic Alliance leader, whose old tweets using the K-word recently resurfaced, identifies as a coloured South African.

This week, the Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture called for the cancellation of the Open Chats Podcast hosts over their derogatory comments about the racial minority.

GAYTON MCKENZIE REACTS TO RUMOURS HE ‘LIED’ ABOUT HIS RACE

On his Facebook account, Gayton McKenzie reacted to screenshots of social media users who accused him of “lying” about being a coloured person.

One screenshot of an X post said of the minister: “Gayton Mckenzie’s real surname is Makena. It was allegedly changed by his father to McKenzie during Apartheid for better employment opportunities.”

Another person alleged that Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie’s son, Calvyn Le John, used his mother’s maiden name to secure government contracts, a claim Calvyn has since denied.

Gayton responded to the accusations by posting several laughing face emojis.

BACKGROUND

In his 2006 biography The Choice, Gayton McKenzie – who was born and raised in Bloemfontein – shed light on his diverse background.

He wrote: “My grandmother is Irish, my grandfather Japanese. My father is a product of that, but looks like a coloured man. My mother is Sotho. I simply look black. 

“I am not entirely clear about my ethnicity. My parents have the photographs at home, but the genetics have been shuffled with a deck of wildcards, and the result is me, someone who looks nothing like the Irish, but has their luck, who looks nothing like the Japanese, and can’t think of anything I have that’s remotely related to them, except the DVD player at home.

“I can’t even say I’m a typical Sotho, but at least I can tell you that in Sotho. Ke ka o bolelo ntho eo ka Sesotho”.