Yellow Brick Road (YBR), a Lagos-based creative agency, has paid the wages of actors hired to participate in a commercial for one of its clients; telecommunications giant MTN.
In partnership with Zero Gravity Nigeria, an advertising agency, YBR hosted an actors casting session in March for actors who would go on to act in a yet-to-be-released MTN commercial.
Some of the actors were recruited by Emmanuel Adesoyin (popularly known as Mannie), a model casting manager, and he negotiated to pay them N30,000 per day.
On June 1, Zero Gravity Nigeria paid Adesoyin to pay the actors but he embezzled the money and told the cast that the company was yet to pay him.
READ MORE: Emmanuel Adesoyin Hired Artist for MTN Advert Then Used His Payment to ‘Sort Personal Issues’
Adesoyin’s narration held up until July 2 when a staff member of Zero Gravity Nigeria confirmed to the cast that she had paid him. Adesoyin then owned up to his scam, and promised to raise the money, but he soon became evasive.
On August 27, Swordpress.NG Reported Adesoyin’s activities after one of the actors narrated the events to us. Two days later, we reported complaints from more actors as they shared their experiences with Adesoyin.
More Actors Accuse Emmanuel Adesoyin of Fleeing With Their N30,000 Payments Meant for MTN Shoot
After Zero Gravity Nigeria’s several failed attempts to modify or pull the stories off this newspaper, FIJ confirmed YBR’s direct payment to the actors on Friday.
Grace Abah’s payment
Speaking with FIJ on Friday evening, affected actress Grace Abah said, “The company has paid us, thank you so much for your effort. God bless you abundantly.”
Grace Benjamin, another affected actress confirmed the development to FIJ.
“Thank you so much for all your efforts, I just received alert now from MTN. God will bless you and your organisation immensely,” Benjamin said.
The post After FIJ’s Story, Yellow Brick Road Pays MTN Advert Actors Owed Since March appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.