Controversy surrounds the latest toddler winner of e.tv's 6th season of SA's Got Talent with allegations that the "unplugged" DJ-tot, DJ Arch Junior, was playing a pre-recorded soundmix, while e.tv's publicity department took days to communicate anything about the show after Sunday night's final episode.
A few months ago scandal erupted and a fine followed after the British broadcasting regulator found that the producers of the finale of the latest season of Britain's Got Talent a few months ago deliberately misled viewers by secretly switching the dog in the ITV talent competition for another.
Now South African viewers are crying foul over the three year old Alexandra township DJ toddler who won SA's Got Talent in the live finale on Sunday night on e.tv and seemingly mixed music on the Soweto Theatre stage without audio cables plugged into his mixing desk.
Images without audio output cables plugged in, gave rise to criticism that the three year old whose real name is Oratilwe Hlongwane, wasn't really mixing music but performing with a pre-recorded track.
DJ Arch Junior who already has his own clothing sponsor, won R500 000 and promotional products of R35 000 in the reality talent format competition produced by Rapid Blue.
The 6th season of SA's Got Talent attracted an average of 3 million viewers per week to the free-to-air-commercial South African channel.
Responding to the controversy now overshadowing the win of the three-year old suddenly thrust into the harsh glare of the media spotlight, e.tv says the audio cables were connected to a second of two laptops adjacent to the sound desk the DJ-tot used.
Glen, DJ Arch Junior's dad, says in an e.tv statement that the small DJ-tot winning SA's Got Talent won't "affect his life with any negative things because he has great parents. We are here to guide him" and that they will "continue to ensure that his needs come first".
While other broadcasters and shows hype the finales and go into publicity overdrive for the last episodes of their reality talent shows and immediately issue press releases within minutes of contestants winning, e.tv's publicity division did nothing in terms of media statements for SA's Got Talent following DJ Arch's win Sunday night.
e.tv didn't respond to a media enquiry on Monday asking if there was a press release regarding the SA's Got Talent winner.
On Tuesday morning, more than a day and a half after DJ Arch Junior won the latest season of SA's Got Talent on Sunday evening, e.tv finally issued a media release to South Africa's media announcing that the toddler had won.
By then the media cycle had already moved on from DJ Arch Junior's win to focus on the questions from viewers over whether the DJ-tot is really playing the decks, and commentary that he shouldn't have won over the more deserving and older Isabella Jane, K-N9NE, Street Stylers,Will Rayz and Henno William who demonstrated real talent.
