Ghanaian actress Juliet Ibrahim said she suffered abuse in silence as a teenager.
In an interview with Saturday Beats, Ibrahim spoke briefly about her book A Toast to Life and the struggles she encountered while growing up; one of which entailed being abused in her teen years. The actress and author did not exactly state the abuse she endured. But she lumped it in with also having body-esteem issues and making mistakes in love.
She said in the interview, “In my book, I spoke about the many struggles I have gone through. From Liberia to Lebanon, Ivory Coast and Ghana, I survived the upheaval of wars across countries, being torn away from my family and losing memories. However, that is only the beginning of my story.”
Ibrahim continued, “I was a child with body-esteem issues, a teenager dealing with abuse in silence, a young woman making mistakes in love and an adult finding cause to celebrate life.”
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The 35-year-old then shared the purpose of her book. “This is to make others aware and to correct the misconception about celebrities having it all. Celebrities also break down. They have emotions and sometimes, they might not have it all. The aim of my book was to empower every girl child that no matter their background, they can rise above it with hard work and determination,” she said.
The actress also noted that the most challenging part of being a celebrity was staying relevant and living up to the expectations of one’s followers. She said, “The most challenging aspects of being a celebrity are staying relevant, trying to improve on what one does and most especially, living up to the expectations of one’s followers. I am a work in progress. I am human like everyone else and I try to always be a better person. Giving up or backing down has never occurred to me.’’