Ghanaian actress and film producer Salma Mumin says backlash over her decision to undergo body enhancement cost her several brand endorsement opportunities.
Speaking in an interview with Nikki Samonas on Joy Prime’s Changes, Salma said she lost endorsement deals with brands she was already working with, while other potential partnerships were also withdrawn amid public criticism of her appearance.
The actress said she had initially chosen to remain silent in the face of criticism, believing that avoiding public responses was the best way to deal with controversy.
“I used to be very quiet growing up because I was a very naïve girl,” she said.
According to Salma, she adopted the belief that “silence is golden” and deliberately avoided responding to both positive and negative reports about her, likening her approach to that of American singer Beyoncé.
‘Brands automatically redrew’
Salma said she particularly struggled with the public reaction to her body enhancement because she considered it a private decision.
She explained that she did not feel the need to publicly announce the procedure, but the issue eventually became a subject of widespread discussion and criticism on social media.
“For the longest time I wasn’t responding to anything especially about my body enhancement… because I felt it was a personal thing,” she said.
However, she said the backlash eventually began to affect her professional relationships and business opportunities.
Salma recalled that she had previously secured endorsement deals with brands, including Maggi, but lost some of those opportunities following the controversy.
“Back then I used to have endorsement and advertised for Maggi Cube and other brands, all of a sudden I lost all of that in the process,” she said.
She added that some brands that had already approached her and were in discussions about potential partnerships also withdrew.
“Even before my body enhancement, brands that had reached out to me that were in the process, discussing business with me automatically redrew,” she said.
Salma attributed the withdrawals to the intensity of the public criticism surrounding her body enhancement.
‘Silence is really not golden’
Despite the backlash, Salma said she continued to remain silent for some time because she believed the situation would eventually pass.
However, she said the continued criticism and personal attacks eventually forced her to reconsider her approach.
“I realized it didn’t fix anything because anybody felt they could just wake up and write anything about me, say anything to me,” she said.
She said she had also been labelled a “bad friend” and subjected to other negative claims because she had chosen not to respond publicly.
After about eight years, Salma said she decided that remaining silent was no longer protecting her reputation.
“It’s been 8 years and I’m being tagged as a bad friend, called names, brands will not come for me because of my body enhancement and what people say about me,” she said.
According to the actress, she eventually began responding to some critics because she wanted people to know her perspective and distinguish between rumours and the truth.
“I felt people need to get to know who I am and what the truth really is and that was how I started,” she explained.
