Actress Yvonne Jegede has defended Regina Daniels following allegations of domestic violence by the latter against her husband, Ned Nwoko.
In a viral video, Jegede criticised online detractors and industry colleagues for mocking Daniels instead of supporting her cry for help.
Jegede condemned the double standards in public reactions, questioning whether the response would differ if Daniels were married to a less wealthy or younger man.
“You see you people on this internet, you people cannot even be real. You people can’t be real. A young girl has come out to cry for help, that she’s been violated in her home.
“And the first thing that you people would think of is, are you not married to a rich man? If she was married to a poor man and the man is beating her, would that make a difference? No, I’m asking you people, would that make a difference? Or maybe if she was married to a single guy who never was married before and the guy is still beating her”, she said.
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She referenced a recent incident involving a woman assaulted by her partner days after childbirth, emphasising that wealth or marital status does not justify violence.
She added: “Because we know people who are single, who are beating their wives. There’s a video of a woman who came out, that came out recently, that she just had a baby and is it four days later, the man beat her till whatever happened and the police came to rescue her.
“The guy didn’t have money, he didn’t have other wives, but he was beating his wife who just had a baby. So if that was Regina’s case, maybe you guys would have been feeling sorry for her that, poor man is beating her. Is that what it is? You people just like bad news”.
Addressing senior colleagues who ridiculed Daniels, Jegede called their actions shameful, noting that everyone has personal struggles.
“You people just like, you people just like bad news. And all those senior colleagues of hers that play her mama years ago, play a mother for a film years ago, now laugh on the internet. Shame on you.
“Everybody has a story. All of us, we have a story. And it doesn’t matter where or how, we all have a story and one way or the other, we are intertwined, we are connected, we are one. So to stand up now and you’re laughing at somebody just because her story has gone the other way, you think you are better?”, she continued.
Jegede, a single mother, dismissed potential backlash, stressing that violence, whether perpetrated by men or women, demands unequivocal condemnation.
She added: “And I know a lot of you will come for me and say, is that not what she’s all about? Single mother, and she’s the one that is holding the mantra for single parents. I don’t care. My own is that once violence is involved, I will not sugar coat it.
“I will tell you to leave. Be it a woman, be it a man, because even some women get agitated so much and they get violence. Oga, I’m not one of those people that come and say, are you not a man? Can’t you man up and do? Bros, you carry your bag for your own health, mental health”.
She urged victims, male or female, to prioritise their safety and mental health by leaving abusive situations.
“You pick your bag and you go. You know, it is better for you to live to tell the story than for you to stay and die. That’s the point I’m trying to make”, she said.
Jegede also questioned the logic of excusing abuse based on a perpetrator’s age, wealth, or marital history, calling for empathy and accountability, particularly from Daniels’ peers in the entertainment industry.
“There are young people who beat their wives. It doesn’t even matter if the man is in his 60s. There are people who have never married before, have married once in their lifetime, and they use beating shift the woman’s face, go the other side.
“Does that make it better? Because if the man was poor or the man was younger, would that make it any better? Would it? You guys should make me understand. Maybe I’m not getting it. Maybe you should make me understand because shame on all these, especially her colleagues that are there now. Is your story any better? Is your story any better?”
