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. 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. 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. 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. 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.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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