Ghanaian actor, Ekow Smith Asante has expressed disappointment at a confession by HIV/AIDS ambassador, Joyce Dzidzor Mensah she lied about her HIV status.
In 2013, Ekow Smith Asante starred in a movie about Dzidzor’s real life story of how she contracted HIV and how she did not allow stigmatization, scorn, and molestation to dampen her spirit .
The movie, ‘My Cross Roads’, premiered at the National Theatre on Friday, October 4, 2013 and received rave reviews. Apart from Ekow and Dzidzor, other stars who played various roles in the movie are John Dumelo and Vicky Zugah.
A year after producing the movie, Dzidzor who has been an HIV Ambassador in Ghana for the past six years, revealed Monday that the movie was based on a lie because she is not HIV positive.
Commenting on the development, Ekow Smith Asante, said he feels really cheated if the actress lied to him.
“As a Christian I will forgive her if she lied to me. As an actor I feel cheated if she lied to me. As a friend she will lose my confidence in her if she lied to me,” he said.
Dzidzor told Myjoyonline.com in an interview on Tuesday that all actors who appeared in the movie were paid fully for their roles and refuted allegations that she benefited from sponsorship for the movie because of her claims that she was HIV-infected person.
But Ekow Smith Asante says otherwise. According to him, “Yes” he was given something for the movie but “[you] can call it humanitarian fee [because] I saw it as my contribution towards her mission. Something for fuel.”
Meanwhile Joyce Dzidzor Mensah says she wouldn’t hesitate to produce another movie to tell a story of how she faked her HIV status if she gets financial means.
