No Zuma's Housewives reality show - e.tv

Johannesburg - An article claiming e.tv would air a show about the housewives of Nkandla was defamatory, the channel said on Wednesday.

"The article published by Lifestyle Tabloid today [Wednesday] claiming that e.tv plans to broadcast a reality show entitled Zuma’s Housewives is malicious,false and mischievous," group communications general manager Matlapulana Ragoasha said in a statement.

"It is important to place on the record, the fact that e.tv is not associated with a programme such as this, which is disrespectful to the president or the office of the president of South Africa."

This article undermined e.tv's integrity, she said.

An article on the blog Lifestyle Tabloid, titled "Zuma’s Housewives Reality Show To Launch on e.tv", reported that, at "an exclusive press conference held today in Craighall, Johannesburg, e.tv has announced what is to become Africa’s most watched television show".

"Set at the backdrop of the controversial Nkandla village, Zuma’s Housewives will be a reality series profiling the pleasures and pressures four women encounter as wives of a South African president," Lifestyle Tabloid reported.

According to the blog, Lifestyle Tabloid carries articles about the latest in entertainment news, celebrity gossip and political satire.

Ragoasha said the channel did not understand the motive of the article.

"We do not know if it is a publicity stunt with an ulterior purpose, or whether it was published with a more malicious intent, but e.tv wishes to express its disappointment and concern at the publication.

"E.tv will seek to find the company or individuals responsible for the publication and will most certainly take legal action as soon as we are able," she said.