…Now bears Nigerian name, Damilola…
For sexy Ghanaian actress, Yvonne Nelson, heartbreak is a painful experience best avoided. Not exactly in the mood to relive
her sensational breakup with popular Afro-
hip hop act, Iyanya, she ended up doing so
just to set the records straight. The actress
was in the country to premiere her latest
movie, “House of Gold” at the Silverbird
Cinema, Lagos, yesterday, and opened up
on sundry issues. Now bears Nigerian
name, Damilola: Excerpt:
How are you enjoying your stay in Nigeria?
Did I tell you I’m half-Nigerian and half-
Ghanaian? I was given a Nigerian name
recently which makes me half-Nigerian. My
Nigerian name is Damilola. It has been
wonderful, I always say Nigeria is like a
home for me. When I’m here, I do not feel
like going back home again. But it’s just
that everything seems to be faster here.
You are in the country to premiere your
latest movie. What’s the movie all about?
The movie is titled, ‘House of Gold.’ It is a
family-oriented comedy, and I want people
to come and see two of Africa’s music
stars Ice Prince and Omawumi make their
debut in a movie. I produced the movie in
partnership with Media Ghana.
“House of Gold” tells the story of Dan
Ansah Williams, a high-flying entrepreneur,
business mogul, polygamist and socialite
who is battling with cancer and has six
weeks to live. With the help of his long-
time associate and legal representative, he
embarks on a mission to recall all his
children, most of whom were born out of
wedlock, back home.
Dan’s last wish is to have all his children
under one roof for seven days so they will
get to know one another and bond due to
the fact that they share the same blood
line. However, that reunion proves a little
more than everyone bargained for as each
child indeed returns with an agenda, and
this sets the stage for the most hilarious
and bizarre seven days of their lives. I’m
urging people to come and see the movie
because they are going to laugh and have
a nice time.
How did you get Ice Prince and Omawumi
to star in the movie?
It was very challenging given the fact that
they are busy people, always performing at
shows. I have my own way of doing things.
I spoke to them and they gave me their
time and schedules, so I worked with it. We
spent about 15 days on set.
Your first movie, ‘Single and Married’ was
also directed by Paschal Amanfo, what do
you have with him?
Paschal is one of the best directors in
Ghana. He is a very straightforward
director and it’s very easy working with
him. You would like to work with somebody
who helps make things go smoothly while
on set.
What’s your experience like working with
Ice Prince and Omawumi on set?
They were amazing on set. Ice Prince was
the one who really shocked me because he
had a show a night before joining us on
set. He did not even sleep, as he took the
next flight to Ghana and the moment he
stormed the set, he started reading his
script and mastering his lines. Omawumi
was so good that I was tempted to ask her
why she’s not into acting in Nigeria. I also
had the funniest Nigerian actor,Francis
Odega, on set.
Why did you decide to star the duo in your
film?
It’s my own marketing strategy as a
producer. I believe they have their own fan
base and audiences. I wanted to spice up
things. When you watch my movie, my cast
are usually very interesting. People are sick
and tried of seeing the same Nollywood
and Ghollywood faces in our movies. I
could have used notable Nollywood actors,
but I just wanted to spice up things because
I don’t think people are expecting what
they are definitely going to see in the
movie.
Controversies have been trailing your
acting career in recent times; from your
break-up with Iyanya to accusations that
you bleached your body and more recently,
an article posted online where you
lamented that Iyanya used and dumped
you. Why all these controversies?
Did anybody hear me say that? Nobody
used and dumped me. As journalists, you
should know that your colleagues are fond
of using sensational headlines to drag
traffic to their blogs and websites. At the
end of the day, I did not say somebody
used and dumped me. I don’t remember
saying anything like that.
But what actually happened between you
and Iyanya?
I guess it is out there. I granted two
interviews on this whole thing; Bella Naija
and Toolz(The Juice). I don’t want to repeat
myself. My interviewers took what they
wanted to take away from the interviews I
granted them. I don’t have any control over
what they decide to publish or put out
there.
You have moved on after the break -up?
It happened last year. The reason I granted
those interviews was to let my fans know
the truth about what transpired between
Iyanya and myself. Sometimes, one’s fans
desire to know what’s happening to their
idol.
How do you address the allegations of
lightening your skin?
Do I look like someone who is bleaching?
One thing people should understand is that
we use a lot of photo tricks.If you watch
our movies, for instance, I look a little bit
dark but if you see my pictures, I look fair
in complexion. Commonsense should tell
anyone that the pictures are treated. What
happened is that I posted my new picture
online and people started alleging that I
was bleaching my skin. That’s how the
whole thing started. My mum is fairer than
me, and my siblings are all fair in
complexion. I don’t bleach and I don’t
intend lightening my skin.Do you feel hurt each time you read
negative stories about yourself?
I don’t. I don’t even know why they say all
the things they say about me. To some
people, if you tell them you can fly, they
would believe in you. Whatever they read
in the dailies, they believe in. It’s good for
them. So, I can’t go into everybody’s home
to tell them, “Look at me, I haven’t
bleached before.” I’m happy with myself.
Are you in any relationship at the moment?
Not that fast. I’m now a “sacred virgin,”
meaning you are not a virgin but after a
long time, you become a sacred virgin.
There are some special people in my life
that I hang out with once in a while. But
I’m not in any relationship at the moment.
I just want to take my time. It’s not as if
I’m looking for guys. I believe that when it
is the right time, they will come looking for
me.
But are you not thinking of settling down?
It’s something that I’m thinking about, but
I just want to take my time. More so, I’m
still young. However, if it comes my way,
why not? But definitely, not with somebody
in the entertainment industry.
Meaning that you wouldn’t want to date an
entertainer again?
Not at all.
Is it because of your experience with
Iyanya?
I guess everybody knows that. It was quite
a shocking experience.
Even after your break-up with Iyanya, there
were some tweets meant to be an apology
to you from one of your contenders, Tonto
Dikeh. How did you receive the tweets?
Like I said in my interview with Bella Naija, I
hate a situation where you bring a third
person into any relationship that I’m
involved in. I don’t want to mention names.
There are certain things I wouldn’t want to
talk about here. I know that those tweets
were actually meant for me. There is no
problem. I hope she’s happy now because
she did whatever she had to do. She
advised me to move on, and I wish her
good luck.
Yvonne Nelson
After reading your interview in Bella Naija,
we sought Iyanya’s reaction and he told us
you were free to say whatever you wanted
to say. Has it got to that extent?
Fine! You guys should go back and read the
interview again. We are in a business
where everybody is trying to protect his or
her fan base. Most of his fans are women
while my fans are basically men. So, I
would do anything to protect my male
fans just as he was trying to protect his
female fans. He can’t run away from the
truth. I decided to open up because I
didn’t want to disappoint my male fans. I
was ready to talk about it. And nobody
could stop me from doing so.
Given this situation, would you turn down
any offer to be on the same set with Tonto
Dikeh?
I don’t have any problem with anybody. As
a professional, if I get a phone call from a
producer and the script is something I like
as well as the person directing the film,
why not? I will. I’m not fighting with
anyone, even though we are not friends.
But all the same, whatever tweets she
posted were meant for me. It’s okay,
there’s nothing wrong with that. We all
have our lives to live and were brought up
in different backgrounds. I don’t have to
respond to anything.
At this point, would you say you were
heartbroken?
I once was.
What’s the healing process like?
Just like any other person. I guess
everybody goes through heartbreak. It’s a
natural thing and as time goes on, you get
over it. I can’t sit down at home and cry all
day long. I’m occupied with a lot of things;
I have movies to shoot, I’m travelling and
handling other projects.
How would you describe Iyanya?
Great guy with great talent. He’s like the
best singer I’ve ever known and he gives
me good reason to think so.
Before the breakup, were you envisaging a
situation where the relationship would lead
to marriage?
I don’t know.
But you gave the relationship your best
shot?
I’m sure if you are in a relationship,
everybody gives his or her best to it. We
all gave our best.
What was the real problem?
The real problem was what I spoke about
in the two interviews I granted to Bella
Naija and Toolz.
What is it that people don’t know about
you?
Back in Ghana, you hardly see me hanging
out with any guy. This is because I’m
always indoors even when I’m not shooting
a film or travelling out of the country. But
here, in Nigeria, the reason people get so
many stories to tell about me is that each
time I’m in the country and they see me in
the company of some of my colleagues,
they will start drawing conclusions that we
are dating. That has been my problem in
Nigeria.
I cannot control what people say about me
because I don’t live here. Sometimes, I
need these guys to take me around. In
Ghana, I drive myself around and do my
things in my own way and nobody says
anything about me. It looks as if I can’t
have friends any more.
If anybody they see me with is going to be
an issue, then there is already an issue. Am
I the only person that hangs out with
friends? All these things doesn’t disturb
me either because I’m a free spirit. I think
people should stop linking me with guys.
I’m not hiding anything. If I have a
boyfriend I should be proud enough to talk
about him.
