Moja Love in hot water over Bongani
Stehr wants drug claims withdrawn
Entertainment mogul and Muthaland Entertainment founder Lance Stehr has threatened to sue the owners of Moja Love if they do not withdraw and apologise for the accusations made against him that he introduced Brenda Fassie’s son, Bongani, to drugs.
In the reality show, Finding Bongani, Bongani accused Stehr of offering him his first cocaine.
Stehr told Sunday World that he was not only angered by the drug accusations, but also by copyright issues and the fact that Muthaland’s music was used without permission.
In a letter seen by Sunday World from attorney David Bison of Media & Broadcasting Consultants, acting on behalf of Stehr, Moja Love is also accused of disclosing private information without the permission of participants, including disclosing singer Ishmael Morabe’s personal information and address.
The letter claims Stehr was not given the opportunity to respond to these allegations directly. Instead, it claims Moja Love has manipulated clips in a prior interview to seem like he was addressing the allegations that Bongani had made, when in fact he was addressing the initial allegations.
The letter reads in part: “In the light of the ongoing harm caused by the scurrilous, invasive and grossly defamatory and injurious broadcast by you against our clients in the above series, up to and particularly including episode 7 in which the smears against our client reached their apogee, we have advised them that they are compelled to protect their good name and reputation and seek restitution from yourselves in order to mitigate the damages suffered by them.”
Head of channel at Moja Love Bokani Moyo said: “He never came back to the channel with any concerns until the episode was aired. We want to highlight the fact that Lance was at all material times informed both verbally and in written documents of the process followed in obtaining his reply.”