Socrate Safo tight-lipped about dinner invitation but says Yvonne Nelson 'set out to destroy'

Movie producer Socrate Safo will not confirm nor deny Yvonne Nelson’s claim that he once asked her out for dinner except to say his response will be captured in a book he is about to release.

Chapter 7 of Yvonne Nelson’s memoir which detailed circumstances that led to her ban by the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG) in 2010, cited Mr Safo as one of the members of the association who later expressed disappointment in Abdul Salam Mumuni, a producer who instigated her ban.

According to Yvonne, she was banned for being a “disrespectful and ungrateful actress fighting those who had made her who she is”.

Her crime was that she had told Abdul Salam that she wouldn’t be available for a shoot because, on two occasions, she missed classes and interim assessment in order to avail herself for the shoot only to be told one of the lead characters did not show up.

On page 86 of the book, Yvonne mentioned that “Within that year, however, there were cracks in the ranks of the producers. David Owusu of Media Five Productions defied the ban and cast me in a movie, but he was not allowed to release it until the ban was over.”

She continued: “Abdul Salam, who had instigated the ban came to me to patch things up. He said we should leave the past behind us and work together. With him, I shot two movies. This was without the knowledge of the other producers because the ban was still in place. Socrates Sarfo, a producer who asked me out for dinner, told me how he was disappointed in the actions of Abdul Salam.”

On UTV’s United Showbiz, Safo was tight-lipped about the dinner invitation as he said he would also capture it in a book he is writing.

He, however, criticized Yvonne Nelson for smearing her mother’s reputation in her quest to find her father. According to Safo, Yvonne painted her mother as promiscuous when she mentioned in her book that the two men her mother mentioned turned out not to be her father, according to DNA test results.

He argued that if Yvonne meant well, she would have found a better and acceptable solution.

“There’s the African Charter on People’s and Human Rights which talks about core values, traditions and morals and Ghana is a signatory to it,” he said. “It talks about the family structure. So, if we have somebody who comes out to denigrate womanhood, motherhood, parenthood in this manner and we look on…”

“Per our values, our culture, our morals, can you tell your mother these things? In a home, you’d have been summoned to appear before the elders and see if you brain is functional or not.

"If you don’t know your father and your mother is refusing to tell you, per our morals, you report her to the elders for her to be summoned and questioned. You don’t amplify it outside. How are the siblings of Yvonne feeling now? Have we considered this?” Safo asked on the show hosted by MzGee and monitored by GhanaWeb.

On the actress’ decision to named some people in her book ‘I Am Not Yvonne Nelson’ and shield others, Safo said it showed the clear intentions of Yvonne Nelson.

“I see the author as somebody who set out to destroy,” Safo said. “You picked your life experiences and decided who to expose to the world and have conscience to shield some people. The man who sent you to Nigeria to pimp you was left out; did she mention the fellow? She only described the person.”

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