Actor Sumsum
Kumawood star Yaw Adu, alias Sunsum, has said that his and creative arts stars like Stonebwoy's celebrity have inspired and helped many a physically challenged individual or person living with a disorder to flourish despite ridicule and shunning.
In fact, to Sunsum, his dwarfism and unusually big eyes have brought him much social and financial fortune.
He sat with Nana Romeo on the Ayekoo Ayekoo midmorning show on Accra 100.5 FM.
"There are wealthy people who request that I come along as their company to funerals," he said.
Some people, he added, pay as much as "GHS5000 for simply coming with them to a funeral."
The actor argued that it is only so because "of the value" these individuals see in people like him.
"When I was little, people used to mock me because of my big eyeballs," he noted.
"I intentionally noted those who used to laugh at me and since I became a star, some come to me passionately begging me to come with them to events to prove to others that they indeed know me privately," he revealed.
He mentioned Reggae/Dancehall superstar Stonebwoy.
"Look at Stonebwoy! He didn't have a leg problem from birth, it was only due to an accident," he said. "But because Stonebwoy sings, today, all the crippled want to sing."
He pressed his point saying that: "Those with big eyeballs used to be really shy. Today you see them on social media but not too long ago, they were shy to come out into public.
"But due to my stardom, they are all not shy anymore."
Sunsum believes his status has even inspired "midgets".
"Today, I am the one who leads all the midgets," he said. "Initially, they didn't want to come out because they were shy and people mocked and made fun of them."
According to Sunsum, he has empowered people living with dwarfism; "giving them rewarding work, helping them make a living, with some renting houses and even making babies," while "I, the master, do not even have a child."
"I have a midget who has three children," he said. "I have eight midgets who have all given birth – some of their children have the condition and others don't."
Sunsum enumerated some of the big brands he is associated with and how when these commercial brands want to do international activations, at their request, he gives them some of his people to help.
Getting to his point, he urged people to be "glad with however God decides to make" them, even if they lack physical comeliness. He cited 'One Corner' hitmaker Patapaa.
"How handsome is Patapaa?" he quizzed. "He, however, is married to a White woman.
"Meanwhile, there are people who have money and want to marry a White woman but are not able to."
Sunsum, 29, noted that "stardom is a wonderful thing."
