Going with the trend of how this year has been so far - another week, another celebrity scandal - there’s yet another celebrity scandal. This time around it involves vivacious and amiable vocalist, Omawumi Megbele.

Omawumi walked out of an interview after the interviewer asked her questions she found inappropriate.

Apparently, Omawumi’s grouse is that the interviewer, Zinnia, shouldn’t be focusing on “rumour” questions. According to Omawumi, Zinnia asking her such questions is malicious and geared towards making her look bad to the viewing public who are her potential customers (to buy her album). Thus, Zinnia doesn’t mean her well.

One thing Omawumi failed to understand is that interviews are primarily a medium for the
interviewee - especially when he/she is a public figure - to right any wrongful information (rumours inclusive) about themselves out there. So, a good interviewer would ask these questions. The reason interviews are set up is for the audience/public to get first-hand information, i.e. hear from the horse’s mouth. Therefore, the interviewer has the obligation both to you (the interviewee) and the audience as he/she is the medium, the arbiter, of credible information. Renowned journalists aren’t afraid to ask those hard hitting questions no matter whose ox is gored. Check out world renowned journalists who have created a niche for themselves as top interviewers whether it is in political interview –

Christiane Amanpour, Wolf Blitzer, and David Letterman – or celebrity and lifestyle – Oprah, Wendy Williams, Ellen Degeneres, and Jimmy Fallon. They do not ask what the interviewee, no matter how high and mighty he/she is; comfortable questions, but ask what needs to be known about that person.

You as a celebrity agreed to the interview. Therefore, it is a given that you want to set the record straight and give first hand information you want out there. The interview is a rare opportunity for you to control the narrative about your person and your brand; to make you less vague to your fans and the public. So, you wanting the interviewer to soft pedal and ask only questions you are comfortable with, defeats the aim of the interview. It becomes superficial, a mockery and the interviewer; an a** kisser.

This is not to say that all interviewers are professional journalists. In fact, most of the entertainment OAPs here in Nigeria are not trained journalists. But, I digress. A professional should know how to tactically position and word questions. For failing to do these, I would begrudge Zinnia. Then again, I don’t know if there was an agreement before the interview. Seeing as it’s been reported that Zinnia is someone Omawumi had known for a long time (perhaps why she agreed to the interview), therefore she shouldn’t be asking her questions based on “rumours”.

Excuse me Ma, the interview wasn’t for the benefit of Zinnia. It isn’t your normal parlour gist. This is a TV interview for the public and these are rumours you should be eager to clear. “Have you ever seen me smoking” isn’t an answer. Of course Zinna might never have seen you smoke but the question wasn’t for her doubts. It’s for the public who might or might not have believed the rumours. Therefore, a more suitable answer would be to debunk it completely, and not to get all defensive; indirectly making the interviewer feel bad and then storm out. This would only reinforce the rumours.

I’d expected Omawumi to reply diplomatically while pointing out her objection to such questions; even buttressing it with the premise that why are female celebrities being placed on a different pedestal than male celebs? Are people bashing male celebs that smoke weed and even brag about it? Is anyone calling out Wizkid or Tuface for having babies upandan? There are a lot of other ways Omawumi could have handled this. Ways that would have scored her more points and emphasise the need for gender equality instead of putting on righteous indignation. She didn’t need to ridicule the interviewer so vehemently; saying “you don’t mean me well” over and over again. Zinnia was only asking to properly inform the public though her word coinage was distasteful and judgemental.

Maybe there was a pre-agreement and Omawumi had requested to be asked only questions pertaining to her forthcoming album. If this was the case and Zina deflected, then Zina is wrong. This is purely a breach of trust. She could have handled it with tact by asking less of the “Did you date Dr. Frabz?”, “Who’s the real father of your child”, “how do you balance your drinking and smoking habits with motherhood” questions.

But more “What’s the message to the album”, “How has it been so far taking out time from music to focus on marriage and child”, “What’s the nature of the album” etc. Even if it there wasn’t a pre-agreement and Omawumi felt Zinnia was not asking album-oriented questions but dwelling on the frivolous, a simple “can we get back to why I’m here” would have sufficed. This would earn Omawumi some street credibility points and expose Zinnia as petty and unprofessional.

Case in reference: Kelly Rowland was recently in an interview to talk about a new brand she is representing and the interviewer was going on and on about Beyonce’s Lemonade. After Kelly answered like two lemonade-related questions, she simply replied the next one by asking the interviewer to “let’s go back to why I’m here”, which was highly applauded. Brilliant. Sometimes, you can’t blame the interviewer for dwelling on the sensational questions. After all it’s what would sell the platform. Remember at the end of the day, it all falls back to viewership and financial returns.

The one justifiable reason for you as a celebrity interviewee to walk out of the interview is when the interviewer is being repeatedly unreasonable and tactless with the questions. For example, Robert Downey walked out of an interview after the interviewer kept harping on the same question even after Downey had replied repeatedly to that same question. It was as if the interviewer wanted him to give the answer he (the interviewer and public) wanted to hear and not what Downey wanted to reply with.

You know when an interviewer tries to put word in your mouth just so it would fit into the popular narrative about you. If this had been the case and Zinnia kept asking multiple times about the smoking thing, even after Omawumi had given a reply to that question, then Omawumi would be 1000% justified to walk out of that interview diva style. But Omawumi didn’t warn her about the distastefulness of such a question. She just went from zero to 100 immediately. Like someone said, our celebs here are so entitled and feel they are doing favours by granting interviews.

In all, I think Zinnia should be praised and reprimanded at the same time.

Praised because she was brave to ask the hard-hitting and uncomfortable questions despite the fact that she and Omawumi were friends. She didn’t sacrifice her duty as a journalist - to get the facts to the public, a journalist’s first duty is to convey credible ad verified information to the public - on the altar of loyalty/being in the good books of her celebrity friend. A closer look would reveal that she was even trying to help Omawumi dictate the narrative about herself in the public domain; to clear the air and put her own truth out there (you know there are three truths, my truth, your truth and the truth).

Zinnia should be reprimanded because she made two very unprofessional mistakes – she didn’t position and word her questions properly.

For an interview that was embarked on for album promotion, the first series of questions should have all centred on the album. Personal and other rumour questions can come later. Zinnia started the interview with the frivolous and didn’t even bother to link them to questions on the album. This is so wrong on every scale. A good interviewer should never lose focus of the theme of the interview no matter how tempting other related juicy questions may be. He/she can always ask these questions later after the reason for the interview had been exhausted except it’s just a regular or tell-all, image-repairing interview like Tiwa Savage’s.

Then, an interviewer isn’t there to pass judgements or take sides. Your position is as an arbiter. Therefore, your questions should be neutrally worded and unbiased. Thus, Zinnia saying “giving your smoking and drinking habit, how do you balance that with raising your kids” is all shades of wrong. By saying this, she has committed herself to a narrative. The question isn’t a question anymore but more like a judgement passed; an underhand condemnation. What she should have asked, if she must ask such a question (personally I think it’s unnecessary), is “Is it true you smoke/drink?” Omawumi’s response to this would determine if there would be a follow up “how do you handle this in light of your children” question or move on to questions on another subject.

http://www.blackberrybabes.com/2016/05/opinion-was-omawumi-truly-justified-to.html

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Na her carry Herself go there so she can leave anytime....