1. 1.It is with a heavy heart that I issue this press release
regarding the vile rumors published by National Mirror and Daily
Independent, and which has now gone viral in over 100,000 websites and
blogs in the last one week, to the effect I had confessed to being gay,
and to being the head of the dreaded illuminati fraternity in Nigeria.
In all my years as a Public Commentator, Human Rights Activist and
Entertainer, I have never had to deal with such an insidious report that
appears to be directly calculated to portray me in the worst possible
light at a time such as this. The two leading newspapers did not just
claim to be reporting an opinion; they actually reported these wicked
lies as FACTS!
2. 2. For the avoidance of any doubt, I want
to assure Nigerians that I am NOT gay and I am NOT part of any
organization called the ‘illuminati’ in any way shape or form. I also
categorically state that any reports of my alleged ‘confession’ to any
newspaper is a figment of the imagination of my detractors, and a very
insidious attempt to destroy my hard-earned reputation, and that of my
Charly Boy brand, all in the mad rush of some newspapers, specifically
the National Mirror and the Daily Independent, to increase their
circulation through spurious and attention grabbing stories.
3. 3. Ordinarily, I would not be alarmed if this attack is coming from
faceless people or inconsequential such as the Danfo Express, the
newspaper that the Daily Mirror and Daily Independent claimed to have
first reported the story. I would probably also not have been so upset
if these newspapers were simply voicing their fair opinions of my
personal life or business life. That would be all par for the course for
my brand and persona, which has been admittedly controversial over the
years, due to my relentless pursuit of justice for the people, fight for
the rights of musicians and my tireless energy in extending the
boundaries of creative entertainment in my legitimate bid to maximize my
creative talents. It is however a different thing entirely when
otherwise reputable organizations such as the DAILY MIRROR AND THE DAILY
INDEPENDENT took it upon themselves to champion A NON-EXISTENT ALLEGED
CONFESSION as FACT! These Newspapers have deliberately reported as FACT
that I ‘confessed to being a gay and head of illuminati in Nigeria’.
These newspapers inexplicably did this without the elementary courtesy
of checking this explosive story with me before going to town with their
attention grabbing headlines. Yet, the management of these newspapers
knew, or ought to have known, that an explosive story of a ‘confession
to being gay or head of illuminati’ will certainly lead to incalculable
damage, even to a controversial brand such as mine.
4. 4. I
am further grieved that having given an opportunity to the two
mainstream daily papers that broke this story, DAILY MIRROR AND NATIONAL
INDEPENDENT, to publicly retract this story and apologize for their
error, through personal texts, emails, and even letters form my
attorneys, these newspapers have continued to ignore my plight and
distress with their false reporting. Rather than showing genuine remorse
in order to convince me that the error was unintentional, THEY HAVE
FAILED, REFUSED AND NEGLECTED TO RETRACT THE STORY OR APOLOGISE FOR
SAME. Even as of the release of this Press Release, these damaging
stories are still very much visible on the online pages of these
newspapers. This has further confirmed my suspicions that these
newspapers only cared about increasing their circulation rather than
reporting the truth, or protecting the reputation of a public figure
such as mine.
5. 5. Ever since these stories broke, with
the DAILY MIRROR AND NATIONAL INDEPENDENT leading the way among the
daily newspapers, I have been inundated with angry calls by my friends,
admirers, business associates and family members who have expressed
their disgust, disappointment and shock at the ‘confessions’ they have
been reading about in different forums. My businesses have irreparably
suffered and my family seriously mortified in the public eye. The
general public, who believed these false stories, because it was coming
from seemingly reputable organizations, such as National Mirror and
National Independent, have also vilified me in hundreds of thousands of
posts and comments on different blogs, websites and social networking
forums. I have essentially become an object of ridicule worldwide as a
result of these wicked lies being reported as FACT. In fact, one of my
daughters recently wrote me a heart-breaking letter on how this
development has affected her emotionally to the point where she was even
ashamed and scared of going out in public!
6. 6.In order to
protect my name and my brand from ignominious extinction by the
recalcitrant newspapers that started these false lies, DAILY MIRROR AND
DAILY INDEPENEDENT, I have therefore given very firm instructions to my
attorneys to do everything legally possible to hold the people
responsible for this accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Since
they have refused to apologize and retract their vicious lies, they
will be made to face the full wrath of the law. I have made a career of
fighting for the rights of others and I will certainly not be shy in
fighting for my own rights in a situation such as this.
7. In
conclusion, I sincerely ask for ALL responsible members of the Press to
respect my fundamental human right to dignity, by not continuing to
perpetuate this falsehood and malicious rumors. I also want to implore
those who have innocently repeated these damaging lies on their blogs,
websites and social forums to make efforts to remove the same from their
publications even as I continue to hold the chief perpetrators, DAILY
MIRROR AND NATIONAL INDEPENDENT, primarily accountable for starting this
public lynching of my name and reputation.
SIGNED: CHARLES OPUTA, A/K/A CHARLY BOY
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