Hollywood Mounts Pressure On Akufo-Addo To Legalize Gay Rights

Sixty-seven powerful celebrities from the American movie capital, Hollywood have penned an open letter asking President Akufo-Addo to legalize same-sex marriage in Ghana.

Excerpts of the letter, as reported by the Guardian UK, reads; “In recent weeks we have watched with profound concern as you have had to question the safety of your vital work at the LGBT+ Rights Ghana Centre in Accra, and feared for your personal wellbeing and security. It is unacceptable to us that you feel unsafe.”

It continued: “As prominent and powerful advocates for this great country, we are beseeching His Excellency, The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and political/cultural leaders to create a pathway for allyship, protection and support. We petition for inclusivity which will make the nation even greater and even stronger.”

Among the celebrity signees are Idris Elba, a Hollywood powerhouse who is especially adored in Ghana because of his maternal origins from Ghana. Elba, whose father is Sierra Leonean, touted his ambassadorial representation of Ghana in Hollywood as a catch in the demand on the Ghanaian President.

Another is fashion mogul, Naomi Campbell.

Interestingly, the pro-gay activism from Hollywood is coming just days after President Akufo-Addo declared that he will never legalize same-sex marriage.

The pressure may have been based on the signal President Akufo-Addo had given on an Aljazeera interview in 2017, where he said gay rights are still curtailed in Ghana because there was no much activism from proponents.

Gay activists practically took this as an open invitation to the highly conservative Ghanaians society.

Two weeks ago, the gay rights issue became topical again when an office that was said to have been opened for the gay rights movement in Ghana sparked public anger and eventually was closed down by National Security.

Then, on Saturday, the President spoke at the installation of the Second (2nd) Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Asante Mampong, to the delight of the Congregation. “I have said it before, and let me stress it again, that it will not be under the Presidency of Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo that same-sex marriage will be legal.”

Idris Elba and the Hollywood gang are of a different opinion, writing that, they are petitioning for inclusivity which will make the nation “even greater and even stronger.”