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“Yeah, I was targeted. Not that I felt it. I saw it. It was face to face,” Mzbel said. According to her, some opportunities that could have helped her career were allegedly blocked because of how certain people perceived her.
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The Ghanaian musician and media personality has opened up about the backlash she faced at the height of her career, revealing that she was once branded “walking pornography” because of her appearance, clothing and stage performances.
Speaking to Kafui Dey, Mzbel said the attacks against her were not simply something she imagined.
She claimed she was deliberately targeted by people she identified as influential “gatekeepers” within the entertainment industry.
“Yeah, I was targeted. Not that I felt it. I saw it. It was face to face,” Mzbel said.
According to her, some opportunities that could have helped her career were allegedly blocked because of how certain people perceived her.
She recalled situations where she would be considered for opportunities outside Ghana, only for influential individuals to allegedly recommend another artiste instead.
“They are the… what they call, the gatekeepers,” she said.
Mzbel believes much of the criticism surrounding her was connected to her bold fashion choices and provocative stage performances.
She remembered one particular episode in which a female journalist criticized her after watching her perform at a club.
Mzbel admitted she was energetic on stage.
“I was too naughty. I was licking my fingers. I was all over the stage. I was shaking my ass,” she recalled.
But she said the criticism went beyond simply describing her performance.
According to Mzbel, the journalist used language that made her feel she was being portrayed as sexually explicit.
“She even added the word porn somewhere,” she recalled.
The label stuck.
“At some point, they could say I was walking pornography,” Mzbel said.
For Mzbel, the controversy was particularly frustrating because she believed she was being judged for simply expressing herself as a performer.
She recalled one incident where a short skirt she wore became the subject of public discussion.
Mzbel said the criticism eventually became so intense that she felt some people wanted to push her completely out of the industry.
“People meant to erase me because I am bad,” she said.
The constant media attention also made her uncomfortable.
She recalled radio programmes opening their phone lines for listeners to discuss and criticise her appearance.
“It made me uncomfortable because then when I go out into public and see people, I’m not sure who is nice and who is not nice because I always get attacked on radio,” she said.
According to Mzbel, even a single performance could become a major talking point if listeners disagreed with what she wore.
“Maybe I’ve done a show somewhere and they didn’t like what I was wearing. It’s a whole topic on radio,” she said.
Perhaps the most striking part of Mzbel’s recollection came when Kafui Dey asked whether anyone in the media stood up for her during that period.
Her response was blunt.
“Nobody.”
Kafui pressed further.
Was there at least one person who supported her?
“Nobody. Nobody,” she repeated.
Mzbel said she felt the dominant public narrative had reduced her to her image rather than her talent.
She was no longer simply an artiste performing on stage.
She had become a subject of public judgment.
Years later, Mzbel saw another young female artiste emerge with a similarly bold attitude.
Her name was Ebony.
And Mzbel immediately recognized something familiar.
“When I saw Ebony, I saw, ah, this is her,” she recalled.
She said Ebony appeared comfortable with herself and was not afraid to express that confidence through her music, clothes and stage performances.
“I saw how she would dress freely and she’s happy on stage,” Mzbel said.
But instead of simply seeing a fellow artiste, Mzbel said she saw someone potentially heading towards the same storm she had experienced.
She worried.
Kafui Dey asked whether she actually anticipated that Ebony would face backlash.
Mzbel’s answer was immediate.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
She said she recognized the pattern because she had personally experienced it.
For Mzbel, the issue was not necessarily Ebony’s clothes or stage persona.
It was the reaction she expected from a society and industry that had previously scrutinized her own choices.
Mzbel said she knew Ebony’s journey would not be straightforward.
“I knew, I said, oh, this is, she won’t have it easy,” she recalled.
But even though she anticipated difficulties, Mzbel said she did not expect events to unfold as quickly as they eventually did.
“I didn’t think she would just pass on so quickly like that ,” she said.
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