Controversial American model and host for the Vodafone 020 Live concert, Amber Rose has explained that she didn’t mean evil, concerning certain comments she’s made on Twitter since her arrival in Ghana which have sparked a lot of disapproving responses from Ghanaians on social media.
On Sunday, she posted photos on her page on whosay.com with the comment, “#TeamAmberRose & I went to a Village in Ghana to feed the children today we laughed, cried & the locals made us really cool bracelets it was an amazing experience #GiveBack” ,which was automatically fed into her Twitter page. The picture and comment has solicited a lot of response from Ghanaians who were largely unhappy that the first image of Ghana she shared with the world was that of poverty and not the beautiful parts of the country -- thus reinforcing the western stereotype.
In an interview, she apologized saying, “People have to understand that this is my first time in Africa. This is not my culture. I have never been here so if I said anything to hurt anyone’s feelings then I am very sorry. I saw that a lot of people on twitter said ‘don’t just show the poverty, show the rich people’. But for me, the rich people aren’t doing anything for the little kids and the people that are living in poverty so I don’t want to go hang out with the rich people.”
“I wanted to see the kids in poverty. I grew up very poor. So I wanted to go see them, help them, talk to them and inspire them to let them know they could possibly be somebody great. So I want everyone in Ghana to know that I wasn’t saying that Ghana is a poor country and no one should come here. Anyone that I have spoken to about Ghana since I have been here, I have been saying that it’s such an amazing place. And I’m sorry for not posting pictures of rich people, but it just wasn’t for me to do”
Amber agreed that a lot of the media focus on Africa back home in America is on the poverty and added that since she’s been in Ghana; she has noticed that it isn’t the case. She commented that she had noticed that in Ghana people are either extremely poor or extremely rich with no middle class; and she hopes that the rich people would do a lot more to help and support those living in poverty. She said she is however enjoying her Ghana experience, “It’s been totally amazing; you guys are so sweet and so welcoming and I am just really happy to be here. It’s been such an experience”
Although many people find it hard to swallow that Amber Rose can be an inspiration to young girls in Ghana, she indeed met female school children from Nima at the Islamic Training Institute (J.H.S), Monday afternoon. After her visit, she posted online as follows:
“I went & spoke 2 young girls at an Islamic school in Ghana today about Girl Power education & not falling into the wrong lifestyle as I did as a young girl. I made a lot of mistakes in my life & they’ve come back to haunt me, but now I have the opportunity 2 talk to girls all over the world & to let them know that they should chose a better way & not follow in my footsteps. These girls are Awesome & it was a true blessing meeting them today they have inspired me! #InspireGirls #GirlPower”
Some of the other tweets she’s made so far from Ghana include a hearty message to her boyfriend Wiz Khalifa and a request for a Ghanaian/African designer to clothe her for the Vodafone 020 Live Concert.
“@RealWizKhalifa I miss u so much! Ur my Angel & My best friend I Luv u my Chunker Freak Boytoy Can’t stop thinking about u Yuum yum yuum :-) ”
“It’s AMAZING! @OGJustPeachie Next time u, My Mommy &@RealWizKhalifa r coming with me its an experience I will never forget :-) ”
“Hey Ghanian or West African designers if u wld like to dress me for 020 Live tmrw night pls contact @tonyaMerritt :-)”