By Winstone Antonio
Songstress Ammara Brown has sparked a social media storm after a Twitter user using the name Mukunda claimed that she was hurt when the songbird turned down her request for a selfie during the military-led march for the ouster of the late former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017.
This was after socialite Yvonne Maphosa had asked her followers on Twitter if they had ever met a celebrity and how they felt.
In response, Mukunda tweeted that she had met Jah Prayzah on two occasions and got selfies and had a similar experience with the late music superstar Oliver Tuku Mtukudzi and Suluman Chimbetu.
Turning to Ammara, she wrote: Oh, that one. Met her at Zim Grounds on that remove Mugabe march. Said hi Ammara, good to see you here. May I have a selfie please and she simply waved me away. Didn’t even say hi back just an, ibva pano hamba (get away from here) wave, next moment she was taking pics with slay queens. It hurt (sic).”
Those who supported Mukunda condemned Ammara for her perceived self-effacement, arrogance and rudeness after she refused to apologise.
This was after Ammara had tweeted back: “I denied 95% of selfies that day as there were thousands of people, and I had no security. I’m not sorry.”
Some social media users in a Facebook interaction with NewsDay Life & Style slammed Ammara for rudely shooting down Mukunda.
Belinda Magejo said it was a miss by Ammara Brown.
“It’s okay not to want selfies sometimes, we are all allowed an off day where you are just tired and can’t do the picture poses, but saying, I’m not sorry that is just rude to the fans that support you. She could have just said I’m sorry I was having a bad day and didn’t have security so I was a bit worried about my security, but next time you see me feel free to ask for a selfie,” she said.
Music producer and manager Joe Heshi Mfeshi Machingura said artistes must respect fans as their paymasters.
Daniel Chigundu said celebrities in Zimbabwe did not move around with security details and that particular day, no one was interested in anyone, the only person who was of interest was Mugabe.
Kennedy Ngonidzaishe Kanguru said: “I think the issue is not about refusing a selfie. People also need their personal space, but that response, I’m not sorry as if someone asked for an apology is distasteful.”
Former Stunner and Gary Tight’s manager Godfrey Vokal Bakasa said even if an artiste was right, it was important to apologise to the fan.
“For public relations, there are some things you should ignore as an artiste and never get into an argument with a fan. She (Ammara) could have ignored the comment or just said I am sorry,” he said.
Gilbert Muvavarirwa said an artiste had no off day and it was hard to change people’s perceptions. These small mistakes normally cost artistes their careers, he warned. NewsDay
