Entertainment of Thursday, 3 April 2014

Source: News-One

'Stop seeking attention, think business' - Delay tells entertainers

TV Host and radio presenter Delores Frimpong-Manso said she will settle for money anytime any day when asked to choose between money and fame, saying "fame without money makes you live a fake life. I don't eat fame. Money talks, it makes the world go round."

She was speaking to NEWS-ONE over speculations that she was desperate to remain in the top league of famous Ghanaian celebs after her fame started dwindling last year.

"Maybe you are saying so because I have stopped painting my hair in blue and cruising in flashy cars to shows and posing for the cameras. As you grow in this showbiz stuff, you get to realize that fame, on its own, is not the most important thing. It can neither buy kenkey nor land. When maturity starts to set in, you focus more on the business part of the creative arts industry rather than the show aspect," she noted.

She continued: "I don't want to be a famous celebrity who depends on salary from my boss or whose source of living is dependent on how much a director decides to pay me for a role. I've gong past that stage. I want to be an independent woman, an entrepreneur who employs people and pays them salaries.”

“I want to be real so when I step out, I don't fake my status and pretend to belong when indeed, I am in someone's pocket. That is when I would be worth celebrating, but not what we have in this country where we celebrate people simply because they have worn extravagant attire or because they are driving a second-hand Range Rover and pretending it is custom-made. I don't have money yet but I am getting there because I am working very hard at it."

The concept of celebrity in Ghana is a mirage and the higher you climb, the more you realize the whole concept is a "make believe," Delay explained.

"When I was a kid, we had GTV to watch. No YouTube, no online stuff and no social media. By then TV and radio personalities were really famous because the country had no choice but to watch Maame Dokuno or Super OD or even Ultimate Paradise. But these days there are several TV stations and online channels that, it is difficult to say who is famous and who is a celebrity."

She is the director and executive producer of the Afia Schwarzenegger TV series and host of the Delay Talk show on Viasat-1.

Furthermore, she owns the franchise to distribute the Delay Mackerel in Ghana and Africa and also owns a couple of shops where she sells clothes, shoes and bags.

"We must begin to think along these lines so we invest our money into businesses that can fetch us more money rather than waste our money competing among ourselves on who has the flashiest car or who has the longest hair or the best toned skin," Delay added.