I won’t accept sponsorship from any alcoholic brand – Joe Mettle

Award-winning gospel musician Joe Mettle has reiterated his stance against accepting sponsorship from alcoholic brands. During an interview on Daybreak Hitz with Andy Dosty, Mettle emphasized, “It is a no for me. Aside from faith, you can only work with brands that complement what you do.”

He further elaborated that corporate sponsorships often come with strings attached, explaining, “A company’s sponsorship is mostly not free since no matter what, you will be required to pay it someday since you will be invited on their stage.”

When asked about accepting anonymous sponsorship from an alcohol brand, he was uncertain and said, “With brands that give sponsorship and do not want to be mentioned, that is the silent sponsors, because silence is silent, I don’t know what I will do about that now though.”

The FDA’s guidelines for the Advertisement of Foods, published on February 1, 2016, prohibit well-known personalities from endorsing alcoholic beverages to prevent minors from being influenced into alcohol consumption. This guideline aligns with a World Health Organisation (WHO) policy to protect children and young individuals from alcohol addiction.

Despite a legal challenge by citizen Mark Darlington, who argued that the FDA’s directive was unconstitutional and discriminatory under Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution, the Supreme Court upheld the FDA’s ban. In a 5-2 majority decision on June 19, the court ruled that the directive was neither unreasonable nor excessive, thus affirming its constitutionality.