The trio of Moyo Lawal, Judy Austin and Empress Njamah have had a Fiery 2023 fraught with ups and downs.
The three actresses at different times this year, found themselves in the mid sea of controversies that threatened to break their spirits, but they rode the waves and appeared to be unscathed. They simply would not back down to threats, blackmails, intimidation or coercion. They fought different battles and appeared to be victorious outwardly, or so it seems.
Moyo Lawal sex tape saga: Sometime in September of 2023, a private video of Moyo Lawal having sexual intercourse with a supposed lover surfaced on social media. The video created a great negative buzz many thoughts could put paid to the actresses’ career or worse, send her into the throes of depression. They were all wrong.
Days after the drama and outrage, Moyo Lawal, reassured her fans that she was still waxing strong and would not stop being who she was as a result of the development and the negative press that followed it.
“I want to emphasise that this video done with my ex I was to marry at that time was never intended for public consumption, and its unauthorized distribution is a breach of my boundaries.”
Meanwhile, to the set of unbelievers who thought I released that video because of a foolish narrative that started because I didn’t point fingers or start trash-talking or blaming anyone and stayed quiet to end it all quickly, I honestly don’t know what to tell you.
“They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and changes you. I pray I become carefree and outgoing because doing life the right way has shown my enemies shege.
“Whoever orchestrated this move to drive my enemy insane and end her career, I just said to tell you, I haven’t lost my faith; I am still standing, striving, thriving, and well taken care of” she had reacted in a series of posts on social media.
Judy Austin’s husband snatching saga: The whirlwind year started in 2022 for Judy Austin when her on-screen husband, Yul Edochie, made it public that she is his second wife and mother of his child. It was a pronouncement that nearly tore the actress apart as Netizens and colleagues went for her jugular labeling her “husband snatcher.”
“I never knew I had so much endurance”, Judy Austin once said of her experience after becoming Yul Edochie’s second wife.
In a post, she opened up on the struggles that came with being actor Yul Edochie’s second wife. She stated that many people assumed the worst about her and tried to tarnish her message. The actress also stated that the lessons she learnt in 2022 were centered on endurance.
An extract from her statement reads:
“I learnt a great deal of lessons this year… I never knew i had so much endurance in me until endurance became the only option…. “GOD really showed me that I’m one of his strongest creations my life is a miracle…. So many things left unsaid… people assuming the worst and running with it… some bloggers ganging up against me to dim my light and tarnish my image…”
With the pressure on her not showing any sign of abating in 2023, Judy decided to hit back by declaring to reveal the true story behind her relationship with Yul Edochie and his first wife, May. Expressing her frustration with the constant insults from netizens who are unaware of the full story, Judy took to her official Instagram page to announce that she would be breaking her silence. She mentioned that she has remained silent for over a year and intends to go live to explain the entire incident to concerned Nigerians willing to listen. Mea However, to show she is unfazed by the situation she shared a post on her Instagram page earlier this year, declaring herself the most beautiful woman on earth and attributing her glow to God being her protector.
Empress Njamah’s sex tape and blackmail: For actress Empress Njamah, she refused to be a victim of love after a lover she was supposed to marry, having announced their engagement in 2022, turned against her. The story actually started in 2022 but climaxed in 2023.
Their relationship caught the attention of the world when her ex-lover known as George Wade put out her nude pictures and videos on social media after blackmailing her.
Njamah, in an interview stated that unknown to her, Wade only ‘disguised’ as a lover, and was “gathering the tools he would use to blackmail me”.
Months later, it seems the actress has moved on from the sad incident. In the thick of the crisis, she had stated that Wade hacked her phone and was ‘handling’ her social media page. But apparently, she has regained control of the page, and has been posting pictures and videos of her activities.
Some months after the bitter experience, Njamah jokingly asked her followers to deposit money into her bank account, because she wanted to test if her ‘alert was working’. Many of her colleagues and fans then asked for her account details, which led to her posting a video, thanking them for the outpour of love. Celebrating herself on March 8, 2023, which was International Women’s Day, Empress posted a picture of herself with the caption, “Happy International Women’s Day to all the amazing women out there. I choose to celebrate myself, my strength, courage, efforts, determination, zeal and all the amazing strong women out there.”
