[ 2011-04-09 ]

Lydia Forson

The sex scandal that almost ruined my career – Lydia Forson
After sharing laurels as joint winners at the
Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) for Best
Actress Award with Jackie Appiah and Naa Ashorkor
Doku, last year, controversy trailed the award
back in Ghana.

While bubbly actress Lydia Forson claimed the
award was hers, equally charming Jackie alleged
that Lydia’s only role at the event was to
escort her to the stage to pick the coveted
trophy.

A year after that controversy made headlines,
Lydia in this encounter with Showtime Celebrity
opens up on her relationship with Jackie Appiah,
declaring that “Ï don’t have a relationship
with Jackie.”

She also explains why she has not starred in so
many movies in recent times and how it took her a
long time to break into Nollywood. It’s
revealing…

Enjoy

How do you feel each time you read some nasty
stuff about yourself in the dailies?

Every normal human being should feel bad; there
are some days I read some stuff about myself in
the newspapers, and I feel like crying. Sometimes,
I would ask myself what I could do to avert such
negative publicity? I can’t attack everybody
that writes negative stories about me. I think,
it’s part of the occupational hazards.

Has there been a situation, you were tempted to
take a legal action to address the matter?

When I read some negative stuff about me in the
newspapers, I’m sometime forced to laugh it
off.

Yes, there was an instance where these press guys
really crossed all the ethics of professionalism
in journalism in Ghana. I was so angry that I
started legal process to address the matter. But
my management advised me against the action. They
figured I’d be dignifying the culprits.

And the advice was not for fear of losing the
legal battle. There was this particular report
that crossed the line because it attacked my work
and my family.

I have a family like every other person and what
people write about me also affects them. They
should not suffer because of what I have chosen to
do in life

What was the issue all about?

It was a sex scandal, I have never spoken about it
on any platform. It happened more than a year ago.
It revolved around a non- existent sex tape, which
never was. The first time, I read about the story
I actually laughed because it was a very funny
story. But it was no longer funny
when it got to the hearing of my family.

My father, a Reverend, suffered, his faith and
health were shaken to the roots. I was alarmed at
the speed the story spread and it got to a point
where some of my fans and most Ghanaians vowed to
throw stones at me.

At that point, I began to feel like I had done
something wrong without me knowing it. I got my
management to investigate the story and they found
out that the journalist fabricated the story .

It’s really sad for anyone to get up one day and
fabricate a story to destroy someone. We’re
actors. We are prone to scandals and all sorts of
things, but one should not wake up one day and
write to destroy someone’s career or life
because I have a family as well as emotions like
everybody else .

What’s your relationship with the press in
Ghana?
I think I have a cordial relationship with the
press back in Ghana .Even if you have written some
bad things about me, I put a human face to
everything that I’m doing.

I’d say hi to the journalist as if nothing
happened. .I appreciate the fact that in Ghana,
when people are crossing the lines, other people
will step in and caution such person.

Do you consider the bad press you have gotten so
far, as part of the prices you paid as a
celebrity?

It’s an occupational hazard, something you
cannot avoid in any country .

Your have not been regular on screen for sometimes
now…

Well, it will interest you to know that the year
2010 was a very busy one for me. After the AMAA
awards, I got a very big endorsement deal and it
was extremely demanding on my own part .

I was brand Ambassador for the arLG phones in
Ghana and some other countries of Africa It was
really a major deal , which demanded a lot in
terms of appearances and stuff like that .But
despite this, I did shoot a movie .

I did a recent movie that is yet to be released
into the market, it’s titled “Vagina Monologue
”and I played the lead character in that movie.
I think I have gradually built myself into a brand
and it’s paying off..

I also got endorsed as the “Face of Paba
cosmetics ”a Carribean based cosmetics line. The
company came to Ghana and after their research,
they chose me because of my natural looks.
I try to take my time in whatever I’m doing.
I’m still working, have done two more movies
which have not been released into the market

Recently, you got a role to star in a Nollywood
movie, the first time in your career. What was the
feeling like when you were handed the scripts?

I’ve had plenty of offers in the past to star in
Nollywood movies but because of my nature, I
couldn’t find what I was looking for in those
scripts.

There are some specific movie directors in
Nigeria, I’d really love to work with. A part of
me was saying, I should wait for the opportunity
to work with those directors .

And for the other Nigerian directors, I saw the
similarities in their work when compared to what
I’d done in the past.

I wanted to be with the kind of people I thought I
could work with, people who appealed to my
desires. I’d love to work with the likes of Jeta
Amata, Kunle Afolayan, Lancelot Imasun, Vivian
Ejike and Emem Isong.

Besides, it has always been my dream to break into
the Nigeria movie industry. I love the Nigerian
movie industry.

Ghanaians movie are good as well, but the
Nigerians concept of show business has been taken
to another level.

Finally when I did get the role, I was excited.
And thanks to Desmond Elliot who assured that,
he’d be the first to usher me into Nollywood.

It was an interesting experience, a bit different
from what I’m used. I came to see and learn how
you people work in Nigeria

After last year’s AMAA, where you were joint
winners as Best Actress with Jackie Appiah, there
was a kind of controversy that erupted, over who
actually won the award. What is the true story
here?

I wouldn’t say it was a controversy, you know.
People like to create confusion where there is
none. Up till now, I don’t know exactly what
happened because after the awards night, in
Yenoghoa, I stayed back in Nigeria to do some
interviews.

When I returned to Ghana, I was shocked to read in
the newspapers and heard over the radios too, that
Jackie won the award.

At first, I didn’t take it seriously, until it
started getting out of hands. The report was that
I escorted Jackie on stage.

Since I was not there, I didn’t want to blame
anybody, Jackie or the media. But two weeks later,
when the media got the authentic information, they
called me to react to the story. And I told them
point blank, I had nothing to say.

Th the most important thing here is that I won the
award and I was not ready to start off a battle
with anybody over it. It is an old story now.

What’s kind of relationship exists between you
and Jackie?

I’m always careful about answering this kind of
question. When I say this, people consider it to
be bad. I don’t have a relationship with Jackie,
and its not because of the AMAA awards or
anything. else. I think Jackie is a good actress,
and she’s a nice person. But we are not the best
of friends. People want to see two of us walk
hand-in-hand, it wont happen.

What informs the kind of roles you play in
movies?

I’m like a canvass, a real actor is like a
canvass, whatever the director wants you to do is
what you will do. But when I’m taking a role,
it’s not about how many times I get cast in the
movie, or how sexy or bad the movie is. Instead
it’s about the story.

As an actress, I’m a story teller, I love real
life stories and things that happens everyday. The
story is the most important thing for me.

Has love been fair to you?

My definition of love may differ from yours. Love
means different things to different people. For
me, love is finding someone, who really cares for
you. I’m like a child, and I like people who
respect my emotion. People just want to have fun
and not take life too seriously.

That’s not what love is all about. Have I been
lucky enough to find people like that?

I think few people like that exist in this world.
And I’m looking forward to finding that man.
Are you sure you’ve never broken somebody’s
heart before?

I’m not a heart breaker and I’m a very
considerate person. I can’t date a man I don’t
like and I don’t deceive people..Have I had my
heart broken before? Yes, like everyone else.

In Nigeria, the pressure is usually heavy on
single successful ladies to marry, what is the
situation with you?

I couldn’t have been born into a better family.
In fact, I have never been under pressure from any
member of my family to get married. I think,
marriage is great but I will never be pressured to
go into it. My mother would advice me to wait
until the right man comes. I’m prepared to wait.
Yes, I get occasional passes, but I will marry
when the time is ripe for me.

How do you describe yourself?

I’m an extremist, a very unconventional person .
I see things that people don’t usually see and I
do things most people cannot do either. I don’t
go out of my way to please people. The only person
I please is myself and God. That’s me.

Source - Nigeriafilms

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