Actors want Ayorkor-Botchway apology over ‘parliament not for movies people’ comment

The Ghana Actors Guild has demanded an apology from the Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor-Botchway, for her comments “parliament is for serious minded people and not people who have done some movies and think they are popular.”

The MP for the Anyaa-Sowutuom constituency while touring the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency said this in a jab at the NDC’s parliamentary candidate, actor John Dumelo who is standing for MP.

The minister’s comments did not sit well with the actor’s guild, they have, therefore, asked her to retract and apologize.

“We, as Actors, are very valuable citizens of this nation with equal rights, therefore, the comment made by Madam Shirley Ayorkor against John Dumelo, one of us, is quite disappointing. This statement makes us ponder on her high-level appointment” part of the statement read.

According to the group “If actors are not meant to be taken seriously, why do politicians come to us for endorsement, and not to the people in other professions they consider “serious”? We represent the people and the country at large. The people listen to our spoken and unspoken languages and above all, we set the trend and pace”.

“We would like to advise the minister and the general public to desist from such shameful and derogatory remarks on our members. We insist that, if she is to be considered as worthy of her tag of Hon., she should render an unqualified apology to the filmmaking and the creative fraternity in its entirety for the verbal disdainful comment she made. We would be forced to respond in equal measure if she refuses to do as advised by 3 pm on a Tuesday, December 1, 2020” the statement read.