ACTOR MELVIN ALUSA TALKS ABOUT BEING A VICTIM OF CYBER BULLYING AFTER BIG BROTHER AFRICA EVICTION AND HIS SIX CHILDREN

Award-winning actor Melvin Alusa has disclosed why he auditioned for Big Brother Africa back in 2014. Speaking in an interview, the actor said he wanted to get international exposure and have fun. “I really went to that show because I was an actor at the time and for me I felt like, ‘okay let me give it a trial’ to get some continental exposure but also just have some fun and win some money,” said Alusa. 

Alusa also discussed his reception in South Africa after making it to the Big Brother House, noting that all his electronic devices were seized upon arrival. He was scheduled to stay in a hotel for seven days but the house got burnt forcing him to spend a month in different hotel in Johannesburg.    

“When you land in South Africa you hand over any electronic devices to your chaperone immediately and there’s a period of about seven days of you just being you in a hotel room doing nothing, just waiting to get to the house. Mine took longer because the studios got burnt and I was in the hotel for 34 days. We were just being moved around Johannesburg. At some point I used to feel like telling these guys you want to go home, by the time I got into the house I was fat and looked tired,” he said.

Also read: Bien’s brother Melvin Alusa talks about facing rejection and resentment from his father

Following his eviction from the BBA House, Alusa was subjected to cyber bullying over indifferences with a Nigerian contestant. The trolls got worse to the point that the actor felt like a loser after hoping to win money in the competition or at least land opportunities due to the exposure. 

“Going on social media and seeing Nigerians insulting me day and night. it began to get to me and I started feeling like a loser and I wasted so much time going to the show. At the time I also thought leaving Big Brother House there will be plenty of opportunities and people have the notion of, ‘you’ve been on an international show that has over 50 million people watching across Africa’ and so people think you have so much money coming your way,” said the actor. 

Alusa further expressed gratitude to his wife who helped him get through depression and negative opinions from social media users. “My wife helped me get through it, I think at that point she was the stronger one and for me to go to that house she really supported me in terms of supporting me and we had agreed that I actually tried this opportunity. However, as much as she was disappointed on the night I was evicted from the house, when I came back home and she saw what I was going through because I was going down some really dark alley and you also have to put a brave face when you’re in the public she was my support system at that time and it took me two years to shake it off,” said Alusa.

Also read: Melvin Alusa wins Best Actor at Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF)

He also disclosed that he is a father of six children, further revealing why he chose to have a big family. “Growing up there was a big gap between me and my sibling and across the street I used to see a Luhya family and they were many. When they would go back home on holiday I would hear so much noise coming from their house and there was so much chat and I just wanted to have a big family as well,” he said.