Veteran Ghanaian actress Irene Opare has rejected claims that she was begging President John Dramani Mahama for financial assistance in her most recent interview.
Irene Opare recently appealed to President Mahama for support as she prepared to mark her 60th birthday, reminding him of her long association with the PNDC/NDC tradition.
The actress said she joined the political tradition at the age of 19 and had dedicated 41 years of her life to supporting it.
During an interview, she was asked what she wanted for her 60th birthday and whether the NDC government had supported her since returning to power.
In response, Irene appealed directly to President Mahama to support her Clean Mama project.
“Mr President, I know you know me. This is your Clean Mama; all I want to say is, please turn your back and look at me. I’m standing right behind you. Just turn and look at me,” she said.
Her comments subsequently attracted attention on social media, with some interpreting the appeal as a request for personal financial assistance from the President and the NDC.
Media personality MC Yaa Yeboah also criticised the actress’ comments, describing them as an attempt to seek assistance.
But responding to the backlash, Irene Opare said her comments had been misunderstood and insisted that she was not asking anyone to give her money.
“I want you to know that I am well established. I am 60 years old, and maybe you don’t know anything about me or know my house, but I am well established. I am not begging,” she said.
According to the actress, the context of the interview was her birthday and the Clean Mama project, rather than her personal financial situation.
She said she had specifically explained during the interview that what she wanted from the government was sponsorship for the project.
Irene Opare also took issue with the way portions of the interview were presented online, arguing that social media captions and excerpts did not accurately reflect the full conversation.
She urged journalists and commentators to listen to complete interviews before drawing conclusions from snippets or captions circulating on social media.
