Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has dismissed claims that he is a racist, calling the accusations “laughable.”

This comes after comments allegedly made years ago resurfaced online, prompting ActionSA to lodge a complaint against him with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).

According to ActionSA, McKenzie used derogatory terms from the apartheid era and made remarks they believe were demeaning to black South Africans.

The party said such behaviour is unacceptable from any leader, adding that, “A sitting cabinet minister should be held accountable for comments that cannot reasonably be defended as anything but racist and demeaning. Racism towards any person should not be tolerated in South Africa.”

The minister, however, has rejected the allegations, pointing out that people have searched through over a decade of his posts without finding the so-called racist statements.

He maintained that he has always viewed Coloured and Black South Africans as one community, unfairly treated as separate.

McKenzie also suggested that some critics are more offended by the Coloured community’s outrage at racism than by the racism itself.

“When you excuse those responsible, you only encourage them to do it again,” he warned.

Earlier this week, McKenzie announced plans to take legal action against podcasters who recently made disparaging comments about the Coloured community, saying such behaviour must be confronted head-on.

See Gayton McKenzie’s old tweet below:

Gayton’s racist tweet