July 08, (THEWILL) – Veteran Nollywood actress, Stella Damasus, has come under fire on social media after it appeared that the actress backed a movie clip wherein a wife is seen beating her cheating husband.
Trouble started when Jennifer Alegieuno, a makeup artist, uploaded the clip on her page with a terse inscription written in Pidgin, “e sweet me.”
In the clip, a woman walked into her husband cheating and rather than question him she attacked him with her martial arts skills.
Damasus had taken to the comment section of the post to endorse her support for the concept portrayed in the movie, saying “me too, I love it.”
However, her position sparked backlash as many of her male followers accused her of supporting domestic violence against men.
Reacting in an Instagram live session, the actress refuted the claim, saying that her support for the movie was based on its difference from the usual narrative that women are always the victim of various forms of assaults.
She said: “Posting that video was not to promote any form of domestic violence. I have been in the movie industry for about 27 years now and for long, our movies from Nigeria and Africa always portray the women as the victims.
“The way that scene would play out is not what you’ve seen. Usually, the movie will play out in such a way that the man will kick the wife or insult and kick her out. So, it has become like a norm in Nigeria and Africa for a man to just beat his wife when it’s not.
“So, I shared that clip just because I saw a different kind of movie and I loved it. I love it because for many decades, we show the woman as the weaker gender. I’m not here to promote violence against men or in any form.”
The movie star also tasked women who have the opportunity to learn martial arts to do so as a way of defending themselves against rape and domestic violence.
“The men are coming out because it’s not the usual narrative. If you have the opportunity to learn martial art as a lady, learn it because in our culture, if you complain against assault and rape, they’ll still come for you,” she added.
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