I just found this interesting article by Etcetera who is now becoming
controversial for his articles on entertainment and entertainment
personalities..Last time, he got Tiwa Savage and her husband angered
when he wrote on female celebrities and 2nd hand husbands...This time,
he is writing on Maheeda as published by
Punch ..Enjoy
For any social network groupie, a name like Maheeda doesn’t need any form of introduction.
All thanks to her for stripping down Nigeria’s entertainment Walk Of
Fame or Walk Of Shame, stirring up emotions on her wake. Maheeda would
have probably been sitting on a long thing if she had decided to lull
her way into our hearts. But instead, she chose to put everyone on a
much longer thing with her strip tease. And in the process, she snatched
the “Queen of the Naked” crown from Afro Candy with her head still
attached to it. Judging by her
body language,
anyone gunning for that crown should be ready to outstrip her and
inspire more damning comments than hers, something like, ‘Maheeda please
put on your pants,’ ‘Tufiakwa, Maheeda you are a
disgrace to womanhood,’ ‘Maheeda please go get a shave,’ ‘Maheeda you are a prostitute, you are crazy, you are rotten,’ and so on.
These are comments that have helped in her star quest. But the clear
consensus from supposed haters and secret admirers alike is that Maheeda
is hot. And in showbiz, that’s
the least crime anyone can be charged for. In other words, blaming Maheeda for
exploiting the show part of the business whether to her advantage or not is a matter for another article.
Some of you reading this article know for certain that if Maheeda was
getting paid for every of your clicks on her posts, she probably would
be one of the richest celebs in Nigeria today. For God’s sake, enough
with the hates. Leave Maheeda alone. Everything she does is off a
well-written script and she plays her role perfectly well just like Kim
in keeping up with the Kardashians. And I guess everyone but Nollywood can see
her potentials. Well, who can blame our poor dear Nolly? It is not her
fault that she was born blind. Whether anyone sees it or not, it is
without a doubt that she has made a powerful statement and used
controversy to boost her career. Her stunts are no way different from
what we have seen in the past from well known artistes in other climes.
The charges brought against her by some self-righteous critics are
ironic considering that a lot of our musical videos today are about
shaking of bum bum by semi-nude vixens.
Is she seeking for attention? Of course she is. But aren’t we all here
in entertainment for that sole purpose? Yes, she is pulling a stunt, but
not a crass and irresponsible one like most people say. NBC can never
be too quick to wield its hammer and lecture of why it should not be
allowed for public viewing, because the kids can easily get traumatised.
Some of today’s teenagers will easily wave it off as nothing. Besides,
Maheeda has never said she wanted to be a role model for kids. That is
Ben 10’s Job. All my life as a musician, I have never come across
anything as the perfect formula for making a hit song. You can only
decide a more convenient and cost effective way to publicise your works
to your audiences.
. It is said that there is no bad publicity in entertainment, meaning
the criticisms further point her in the right direction towards her
desired aims. Nudity and music videos are two things that go great
together. Artistes have been pushing envelopes for years and using their
bodies as extras to woo audiences. From Alanis Morissette’s “Thank U”
to Lady Gaga’s “Telephone,” artistes have been stripping down in their
videos. In 1999, the American rock band,
Blink 182 moved down the streets almost naked in their “What’s My Age”
video. D’Angelo revealed his well chiselled abs and almost revealed his
penis in his year 2000 “Untitled” (How Does It feel). Robbie Williams
also stripped off his clothes and even his skin to impress girls in the
“Rock DJ” video that same year. More artistes have gone nude or
semi-nude in their music videos, like Britney Spears and Madonna, while
Erykah Badu’s very popular “Window Seat” video shows her stripping off
her clothes while walking through the famed Dealey plaza in her native
Dallas.
Television in Nigeria is fast becoming a graveyard of dead and boring
programmes due to the strict regulations of NBC. While videos like
Maheeda’s and Timaya’s Ukwu are gaining more viewers for cable TV
channels.
I recently stumbled on a TV interview with Maheeda angrily talking about
the comments made by Charles Novia about her personality. It was an
interview that revealed nothing we didn’t already know about Maheeda
anyway. But how monotonous can an interview get, asking Maheeda how many
minutes she takes to put on her panty hose? How she pictures her as
someone who loves getting dressed beats me. Hello, your question should
be how many minutes it takes her to get undressed. I guess Maheeda only
got dressed that day because the TV station must have insisted on it.
And the fact that they are not a cable
TV channel.
I am sure Maheeda would have loved having NBC choke to death watching
her naked tattoo-riddled body on TV. Who wouldn’t! Not that the
death of NBC would have bothered any
entertainer
anyway, least of all Maheeda. NBC’s funeral might even call for street
carnivals all over the Nigerian entertainment-dom. Nobody requires NBC
approval to take off their clothes.
I
remember seeing a video teaser of Maheeda for the first time on
facebook and I thought it was indeed interesting. But I will quickly
advise anyone who intends going on a naked pilgrimage like Maheeda’s, to
first and foremost develop a thick skin as a buffer for public
backlash. But some entertainment stakeholders will argue that the only
true contingency in entertainment is get criticised and get popular with
it. I won’t be wrong to assume that a lot of people actually await her
next stunt. There’s definitely no wahala in nudity as far as the world
of art is concerned. In entertainment over the years, we have seen
crazier things done with the intent of getting the message across.
Erykah Badu for instance got a fair dosage of criticism and respect for
her “Window Seat” video. Maheeda seems prepared to deal with the
consequences, good or bad. She has already made it clear to all and
sundry that she believes in what she does. And I think it is great. What
is so offensive about
the human body
anyway? Not like she is doing what none of us have seen or heard of
before. People should try and lighten up and give her a break. What
better way for her to drum up publicity in this already saturated
industry of ours. If we all must go only by NBC’s regulations and get
all dressed up every time we stand before a camera, won’t it all be too
normal and normal they say is boring. And while we sit awaiting the next
stunt of the nude high priestess, let me borrow a line from Russell
Crow the gladiator, are you not entertained?
