Content creator and social media influencer Amarachi Amusi, popularly known as Ashmusy, has opened up about her public fallout with Big Brother Naija star Phyna, insisting that she never intended to betray her colleague.
In an interview with Saturday Beats, Ashmusy explained how she became involved in a proposed celebrity boxing event and how uncertainty over participating eventually led to the controversy with Phyna.
Phyna had alleged that after recommending Ashmusy as her opponent for the event, the content creator stopped communicating with her and asked the organisers to remove her from the fight.
Ashmusy, however, denied deliberately working against Phyna, saying she had been unsure about participating in the boxing event from the beginning.
She said she was on holiday in Japan when she was first contacted about the event and did not pay much attention to it because she was busy. According to her, Phyna later reached out and tried to convince her to participate.
“I told her I wasn’t sure, but several times in the chat, I told her, ‘I am in. Let’s do it,’ just to go with the flow because I was very busy at the time. She was convincing me. I hadn’t looked too deeply into it, but in my head, I knew I wasn’t sure. Hence, the contract they sent to me was delayed. I never sent back a signed contract till date,” she said.
Ashmusy said she later contacted a representative of the organisers to ask if she could choose another opponent because she was uncomfortable with the proposed fight.
According to her, she was not informed that choosing another opponent could affect Phyna’s participation in the event.
“This person didn’t inform me that if I picked someone else to fight, it meant Phyna would have to step down or Phyna’s own fight would be delayed. I had no idea. I wasn’t informed. In my head, it was like a full day where you could have plenty of boxing matches,” she explained.
She added that she was under pressure from the organisers to finalise an opponent while dealing with a busy trip, which made her communication rushed.
“I was in communication with the lady because she was pressuring me, asking, ‘What’s up with my match?’ She would say, ‘You are the one delaying us o. Let’s make payment this week,’ etc. It was just like that. It was a bit disorganised because I was busy,” Ashmusy said.
“Three different live videos were posted on her page. I started being bashed online and being called all sorts of names. And I had worked really hard, personally and brand-wise, to get to the point where I am with my brand this year, without any scandal or bashing,” she said.
“Experiencing that really broke me and hurt me in ways I cannot explain because I had worked too hard to avoid it. I am no longer in that space anymore. It really hurt.”
Ashmusy also claimed that some of the chats circulated during the controversy had been doctored, although she admitted that she had not seen all the messages.
“I didn’t see those chats, but I believe those chats were doctored because the one Phyna showed me had misrepresentation in it. That was the only one I saw on her DM. I didn’t check her story for the sake of my mental health,” she said.
She said she later removed Teddy, a representative involved in the situation, from the communication process so she could better understand what had happened.
“After some days, I reflected. I took Teddy out of the picture because, before then, she was the one blocking my view. I was hurt and pained that she threw me under the bus. I thought she had communicated with Phyna.
“After I took her out of the picture, I could clearly see the full picture.”
Ashmusy said this helped her understand Phyna’s perspective and recognise her own part in the misunderstanding.
“I realised, looking at it from the perspective I just explained, that Phyna must be really hurt. But, that was not my intention,” she said.
She added that she later attempted to resolve the matter privately after receiving what she described as death threats.
“I reached out to the company because I was getting death threats. I also reached out to Phyna to see how we could fix things online, but everybody kept declining. I was painted as the villain, and nobody wanted to come forward or put out a press release,” Ashmusy said.
Despite the controversy, she disclosed that she and Phyna had made some progress towards resolving their differences.
“I spoke with Phyna and we sort of reconciled, but on the internet, I am being painted as the evil one,” she said.
Reflecting on the incident, Ashmusy said the experience had taught her to be more careful in her dealings going forward.
“Whatever the case may be, I have learnt my lesson. I will watch my steps more, and every damage will be fixed, with God on our side,” she added.
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