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.

Lydia Forson

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 on the job . . .

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 was shaken to the roots. I was alarmed at the a 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 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 : www.vanguardngr.com