Accra: Fashion entrepreneur and red carpet personality Nana Akua Addo made headlines after firing back at actress Yvonne Nelson over a criticism she made back in 2017, but what exactly did Yvonne Nelson say that lit the fuse nearly a decade later?
According to Ghana Web, in an Instagram post on June 10, 2026, Nana Akua Addo referenced a July 24, 2017, publication by Modern Ghana headlined "Ghana celebrities only think of how to slay on red carpets - Yvonne Nelson," arguing that what was once dismissed as vanity has since become a thriving pillar of Ghana's creative economy.
The incident dates back to Yvonne Nelson's outspoken commentary on Ghana's entertainment industry in 2017. The actress went on a public rant after watching a colleague give what she described as an embarrassing interview during the 2017 edition of the Golden Movie Awards in Accra. Frustrated, she took to Twitter (now known as X) to express her concerns about the industry's focus on appearances rather than content production.
"The industry has so lost its way, and they can't even see it," Yvonne Nelson wrote at the time. "They're all going in that direction. Dressing up to be posted on social media." She criticized the diversion of energy into curating red carpet looks and social media posts, suggesting it detracted from actual production efforts.
Yvonne Nelson's post was part of a series of critiques, where she also responded to comments by Mimi Andani, director of the Golden Movie Awards Africa (GMAA). Andani had previously blamed 'actors turned producers' for the falling standards in the Ghanaian movie industry. Yvonne targeted the trend of celebrities diversifying into multiple roles without mastering any, indirectly addressing Mimi Andani, whom she described as a "reality star turned musician turned designer turned event organizer."
For many, Yvonne Nelson's message was a call for industry stakeholders to focus on showcasing Ghanaian content globally rather than prioritizing red carpet appearances. In 2022, the Golden Movie Awards were held for the last time, with Mimi Andani later attributing the cessation to her personal circumstances, including a messy divorce in 2024.
While Yvonne Nelson's 2017 comments were not specifically aimed at Nana Akua Addo or the red carpet culture itself, nine years later in 2026, Nana Akua Addo reignited the conversation by posting a screenshot of the story. She captioned it, "I understood, long before many did, that the red carpet was more than appearances; it was business, branding, storytelling, economic opportunity, and job creation for young creatives."