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ACCUSED of fabricating a Forbes magazine cover, DJ Sbu Leope has threatened the publication with legal action, on the grounds that their claims are defamatory.

Following the saga that ensued after Forbes magazine said they were instituting legal action against Leope after a magazine cover with him cradling his new energy drink surfaced on social media — Leope has responded with threats of legal action of his own.

In a statement, Leope said he had not created the magazine cover. Instead he saw it circulating on social media and proceeded to use it on his social media platforms.

“I was honoured that someone would go to the trouble of creating such an image. I thought it was so cool so I re-tweeted it. I never thought that Forbes Africa or anyone else would react so negatively to it.

“We’d think that an organisation such as Forbes Africa would know that publishing such false and damaging accusations against prominent members of the public may be considered defamatory and render them liable for damages.”

Meanwhile, Chris Bishop, managing director of Forbes Africa, said his legal team was working on the Sbu issue.

During a radio interview, Bishop said they took the false cover very seriously.

“The Forbes Africa cover is our crown jewel; our trademark. We guard our cover jealously. People spend their whole lifetimes to get on that cover, and then to see it all over social media with a bogus cover is disheartening.”

Leope continues to use the magazine cover as his Facebook profile and cover images. He has come under fire of late, after he promoted his energy drink on stage at the Metro FM Awards.

Leope was suspended by SABC for defying orders not to market anything other than official sponsors.

According to a report, an audit has been done on his radio show to ascertain how many times he mentioned his product.

The SABC is expected to serve Leope with an invoice to cough up for misused airtime. — TimesLive