- Mother in Law actor Ras, real name John Githui, has decried the sorry state of actors in Kenya
Being an actor is not rewarding, atleast according to Mother in Law actor Ras. In a no-holds barred interview on Plug TV, Ras shared the financial difficulties faced by actors in Kenya.
“Jina kubwa na unatembea kwa barabara na unapigiwa mahony na magari zote watu wamekuinulia mkono juu(chuckles) ‘msanii umesweat unatembea kwa rodi uko njaa juu unalipwa ngiri mbao hauna doo na wewe you’re so popular” Ras shared.
Ras wondered why news anchors are paid so much yet they only read news collected by reporters and edited for them while actors who enjoy massive following are paid a pittance.
“Why should a news anchor be paid so much money to read news on autocue yet actors get very little?”, he posed.
He went on to do that for all the fame they are paid as little as Ksh30,000 while a news anchor makes upwards of Ksh600,000.
“It’s a hard time for wasanii… A lot of people know and notice actors, but they are broke. The value ya industry is going down with time. Whatever I used to get back then is different from what I get right now,” Ras said.
The actor gave an example of going to his kids school with a motorbike while other parents make grand entries with Range Rovers.
This, he said, is what pushes celebrities to start asking for financial assistance online.
“This is why kuna wasanii wengine huingia kwa mtandao wanaambia wakenya wamesota wanachangiwa pesa. Unaeza pata huyu msanii si kusota amesota, ni kujam amejam. Anasema mimi wacha nitafute pesa kwa hawa wakenya by force kama wananijua,” he said.
Loosely translated: (This is what pushes artists to ask for assistance from Kenyans on social media by claiming they are broke. You will be surprised this artist is not broke but he is just mad. He just wants to get money from Kenyans by force since they know him)
Ras on actors royalties
The actor said they don’t earn royalties like musicians even when episodes of past shows play on repeat.
“Hakuna royalty yoyote actors hupata. Tuseme my fresh episode comes on Thursday, then kuna repeats ya the same content on Monday, nikilipwa ya Thursday hiyo ya Monday silipwi kwa nini na kuna watu wamketi wanaiwatch? And adds are running? “ he questioned.
Loosely translated: Actors don’t get royalties. If a fresh episode is aired on Thursday, and a repeat of the same content on Monday, if I had been paid for the first episode I won’t be paid for a repeat of the episode and ads are running.
He went on to add that if you get a gig on a TV show paying like Ksh100,000 the person referring you will expect you to pay them Ksh50,000. If you don’t accept this condition, they get someone else ready to play ball.