Cassper Nyovest has reignited his long-standing criticism of MacG and Podcast and Chill, arguing that the backlash facing the podcast is precisely why he has refused to appear on the platform.
The rapper’s comments come as South Africa grapples with the killings of women in and around Kempton Park and the wider Ekurhuleni area, where multiple bodies have been discovered in recent weeks.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has since said the cases have been prioritised and that “no stone will be left unturned” to bring those responsible to justice. Police are investigating the killings and have not confirmed that they are the work of a single serial killer.
The national concern has been compounded by the death of 38-year-old Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, a mother of an eight-year-old who disappeared after leaving home for a run in Kempton Park. Her body was later found and identified by her family.
It was while discussing her disappearance that comments made on Podcast and Chill triggered a fresh wave of criticism.
The joke that sparked outrage
A clip from the podcast circulated online after the episode was released, showing MacGyver “MacG” Mukwevho and Solomzi “Sol” Phenduka discussing the disappearance of Moselakgomo.
At the time the episode was recorded, she was still officially missing.
MacG joked that the woman should have “kept on running”, while Phenduka laughed and made a further joke about someone coming from the darkness and targeting her because of the number on her running bib.
The episode was recorded before news of Moselakgomo’s death became public. However, once her body was found and identified, the comments were viewed by many as deeply insensitive, particularly against the backdrop of multiple women being killed in the same geographical area.
The controversy has since moved beyond one podcast episode and into a much larger conversation about the treatment of gender-based violence, missing women and femicide as entertainment.
Ramaphosa: “No stone will be left unturned”
The seriousness of the situation was underscored by President Ramaphosa, who addressed the killings in a statement issued by the Presidency.
He extended his condolences to the families and communities affected and acknowledged the fear the incidents have created, particularly among women.
“These incidents are causing fear and uncertainty in our communities, and especially among women,” Ramaphosa said.
He said law-enforcement agencies were working urgently to establish the facts, protect communities and bring those responsible to justice.
“I have spoken to the Minister of Police and the Acting National Police Commissioner, who have briefed me on the investigation. I have directed that these cases be prioritised and that no stone be left unturned in bringing those responsible to justice,” he said.
Ramaphosa also called on members of the public to assist investigators with information.
“If anyone has information about these incidents or if you are missing a relative or friend, please contact Warrant Officer Elvis Manyike on 082 465 7249,” he said.
His comments came as the number of women whose bodies had been discovered in the area continued to grow, with government officials and law enforcement under pressure to establish whether there are links between the cases.
Sol apologises
Amid the backlash, Phenduka issued an apology.
He explained that the episode had been recorded on Sunday, before Moselakgomo’s body was discovered.
“I made an unfortunate pun/joke. We laughed, but it’s not funny anymore, because when the story developed, it was discovered that the lady’s body was found in Kempton Park,” Phenduka said in his apology.
He apologised to South Africans, Chillers and Moselakgomo’s family, acknowledging that making jokes about a missing person was distasteful, particularly within South Africa’s ongoing femicide crisis.
Phenduka also described himself as an advocate against gender-based violence and urged men to stop violence against women.
His apology has been met with mixed reactions online, with some accepting his explanation while others continuing to question the decision to joke about a missing woman in the first place.
MacG, meanwhile, has not issued a separate public apology over the comments, leaving Phenduka’s statement as the principal apology from the podcast’s hosts reported in the aftermath.
Cassper: “If y’all can joke about femicide, ke mang nna?”
For Cassper, however, the controversy is bigger than one badly received joke.
The rapper has previously made it clear that he wants no association with MacG’s podcast, and his latest comments have effectively revived that history.
Taking to X, Cassper directly attacked the podcast and those defending it.
“These niggas are so insensitive and it’s intentional. They know there are no repercussions!!! They say anything about anyone all in the name of content and the damage is immeasurably catastrophic,” he wrote.
“A mother to an 8 year old was killed and there isn’t anything funny about that.”
He then delivered the line that has become central to his response:
“If yall can joke about femicide, ke mang nna ??? Yall can go to hell !!! Lotlhe!!!! Le sule di pelo!!!!”
He also described the podcast as “poison” and accused its supporters of backing what he sees as a harmful approach to content.
In another post, he wrote: “The guys you support. This podcast is poison !!!! Just evil !!! Poison!!!”
Cassper says he warned people years ago
The significance of Cassper’s intervention lies in the fact that his position on Podcast and Chill predates the current controversy.
In 2021, when asked on social media whether he would ever appear on MacG’s podcast, Cassper responded: “Never!”
He later indicated that the podcast had attempted to get him on the show, but that he had declined.
His refusal was not therefore triggered by the current femicide controversy. He had already publicly drawn a line between himself and the platform years earlier.
Cassper has now returned to that history, arguing that what is happening today demonstrates why he chose not to participate.
His latest comments also came after he was himself targeted in social media discussions involving MacG and people associated with the podcast.
“Nigga you think I care what a trash human like Mac G and his minions say about me on this app?” Cassper wrote in one post.
He continued with a series of insults and defiant remarks before returning to the issue of the podcast’s approach to controversial subjects.
The rapper’s position is clear: he believes the criticism of Podcast and Chill is not simply about one joke, but about a broader culture of saying provocative things for content without sufficiently considering the consequences.
The debate over content and consequences
The controversy has placed Podcast and Chill at the intersection of two very different conversations.
One is about the podcast’s established style of unfiltered conversations, humour and controversial commentary.
The other is about real women whose families are dealing with loss, fear and unanswered questions.
In Moselakgomo’s case, the joke was recorded before her death was known. That distinction forms an important part of the context around Phenduka’s apology.
But it does not erase the fact that she was a missing person when the conversation was recorded.
That distinction is central to the criticism: the issue is not simply that the hosts knew she had died and joked about her. They did not. The criticism is that a missing woman, whose whereabouts were unknown and whose family was presumably hoping she would return safely, became the subject of humour.
A country already asking harder questions
The podcast controversy arrives at a moment when the national conversation around violence against women is particularly intense.
The Presidency has acknowledged the fear created by the killings, while Deputy President Paul Mashatile has also condemned the deaths and called for law enforcement and communities to work together to ensure those responsible are brought to book.
For families of missing women, the issue is not content.
It is whether their loved ones come home.
And for Cassper, the latest controversy has provided an opportunity to return to a position he established years ago: that he wanted no part of Podcast and Chill.
Whether audiences agree with his broader criticism of MacG is now part of the public debate.
What is not in dispute is that Phenduka has apologised, Ramaphosa has ordered that the killings be prioritised, and investigators are still working to establish exactly what happened to the women whose bodies were found around the East Rand.
As that investigation continues, the families affected remain at the centre of a story that has become much bigger than a podcast clip.
