Radio Jock, Thando Thabethe who hosted ‘The Thabooty Drive‘ (weekdays, 3pm to 6pm) on 5FM, recently handed in her resignation after being with the station for 6 years.
Thabethe’s last show was on 5 March 2020.
The star tweeted of her decision; “And so…I’ve dropped the mic..after 6 years at 5 and 11 years on radio! This is it. I’ve decided to focus on other spheres in my life.”
To share more details on her resignation, Thabethe took it to Twitter on Tuesday, 07 April 2020 to explain why she left the station:
Context first: 5FM had “acting programme & station manager for a couple of months, they finally appointed JD Mostert and Siyanda Fikelephi as Station & Programme Manager respectively.
On Friday 28 Feb I had a meeting with the PM who let me know that the show was renewed, as per our annual negotiations. I then tried to negotiate a raise of R200 an hour. At this point he had agreed for me to take 2 weeks leave to shoot housekeepers
Fast foward the following Monday I hear that the Thabooty drive will be no longer as it doesn’t fit into the 2/5 year plan of the SABC. This info I hear from colleagues or people on my show.
At this point I hear that the replacement of the show had already been notified and so had my current team mates. Note: I was the last to find out that my very own show no longer existed!!!
I was offered…wait for it…SUNDAYS 4-7am. I have ploughed many hours into the work that I do, and found this an insult after 11 years on radio. I then proceeded to resign. The current line up at 5FM is not a representation of the diverse country that we live in.
it’s also very easy to dub me as “demanding” to the powers that be in the hope that the truth doesn’t come out.
The truth eventually did come out, I was then offered my original slot back, which I declined, in the fear of being victimized by the very same ppl who wanted me gone to begin with.
Because I have been in this industry for a while and understand 100% that shows are shuffled and changed annually. My gripe is the lies told to me and about me for personal gains. I hope this never happens to anyone else. I know of many stories where artists are mistreated…
And hope that others will be able to speak up when unfairly labeled and treated.
She also revealed that she is now focusing on the next chapter in her life, which is acting and growing her business.
In support of Thabethe’s resignation, DJ Fresh tweeted his prediction about Thabethe’s decision:
I tweeted that this will probably happen, the day after you “resigned”. Sad that the daytime lineup is more ALL MALE, than it was even 15 years ago!!!
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