It breaks my heart when artistes ask for money to pay their medical bills – Banky Wellington

Nigerian actor and singer Banky Wellington has blamed stakeholders in the entertainment industry for not doing enough for its artistes, leaving them to beg fans and other celebrities for money to fund their medical expenses.

The actor now turned politician revealed this in an interview with HIPTV.

Banky W said that it breaks his heart when artistes are not able to pay their medical bills because they do not pay attention to the business side of their craft.

He blamed the stakeholders in the industry for not doing much to help artistes with the business side of their work.

Speaking in the interview, he said:

“It breaks my heart when artistes fall ill and have to drive people to help foot their medical bills.

“I’ve chipped in for a few medical bills. So, I know. But it shouldn’t be that way.

“People who have contributed to entertainment, to the culture; to the history — whether musically or cinematically — should have their work continue to pay for them, even after their moment in the sun is over.

“The only way to fix that is if we start paying more attention to the business of showbiz; the structure; the organizations and what is going on in them.

“Let’s require an audit of ourselves and see if we’re doing the right thing.”

Banky W mentioned that he is happy that the industry is evolving and things are improving.

However he believes that since it is showbiz, the business aspect of the industry should not be sacrificed for just the entertainment.

“We’ve seen the creative industry in Nigeria evolve. We’ve seen them grow. We’ve seen them achieve things in leaps and bounds and I’m proud to be part of this group of creatives…

“If we’re talking about creatives and entertainment, we call it showbiz for a reason, right?

“There’s the show and there’s the business. The show is about creativity and, in that aspect, we’re doing great by putting out amazing content.

“But on the business side, we’re found lacking. I think we need to do better.

“It’s time for us to take the business of show business seriously so that our royalties can pay for our children and our children’s children.” he said.