Actress Vicky Zugah has revealed that many actresses are unable to name and shame film producers and directors who demanded sex from them before giving them roles to save their future careers.
According to her, the actresses get blacklisted once they talk.
She observed that the culture of the country has also trained Ghanaian women not to be vocal; otherwise, their words would be used against them in the near future.
Speaking in a recent media interview, Vicky said women who were vocal were always deemed not good for marriages, so women became timid to express themselves when they were being exploited in the pursuit of their careers.
“In this part of the world, when you’re this vocal, they think that you’re not wife material. So, if you’re a woman who is hoping to get married one day or who is aspiring to be maybe a politician or any other figure, then you don’t need to say these things on air or expose yourself like this because you will be blacklisted,” she said.
She also noted that public criticism and skepticism were holding back many victims of sexual harassment and abuse in the industry from telling their stories.
“When you name and shame, they tell you, ‘you’re messing up with people who are married. These are people who have moved on, are married, are in relationships, and you are naming them. This is in the past; you should move on yourself and get a life.’”
“They say you are bitter because you’re still single; that’s why you’re naming them. You see, so you can’t; you just don’t know what to do with people. You can’t please anybody,” the actress said.
Despite these adversities, Vicky encouraged colleagues who faced such situations to tell their stories by naming and shaming perpetrators if they wanted to.
However, she added that victims who felt a confession might not bring them peace and wished to put the past behind them should do so.
This comes after veteran actress Akofa Edjeani revealed that she lost a movie role because she refused to sleep with a film director.
Source: Ghana/MaxTV/MaxFM/max.com.gh/Joyceline Natally Cudjoe
