Yvonne Nelson ; Nobody used and dumped me

Ghanaian actress, Yvonne
Nelson, heartbreak is a painful
experience but could be best avoided.

Not exactly
in the mood to relive her sensational
break-up 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 shares on sundry
issues. Now bears Nigerian name,
Damilola:

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.
Yvonne Nelson
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. 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 tired
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.