Comedian Njugush defends Abel Mutua’s viral clip on deliberate on-screen kiss with Sarah Hassan
Scriptwriter and actor Abel Mutua is facing backlash on social media following his recent interview on the Mic Cheque Podcast.
During the interview, Abel admitted to allegedly using his role as a scriptwriter to orchestrate a kiss scene with actress Sarah Hassan, who played ‘Tanya’ on the popular TV series “Tahidi High.”
Abel, who rose to fame as ‘Freddie’ on the iconic high-school drama, revealed that he set up the kissing scene as an act of revenge after Sarah Hassan reportedly turned down his romantic advances.
“Tanya was very polite,” Mutua said, referring to Sarah Hassan being laid-back.
One of the podcast hosts, Chaxxy, asked, “But alikunyima mbaya?” to which Mutua responded, “Who is God? Our very last episode, “I said, ‘I swear, this girl has been rejecting me… The very second to last scene of my episode on the show, I kissed her in class. I kissed her hard.'”
Mutua claimed that the script required the kiss, leaving Sarah Hassan with no choice.
“Now, how can you refuse when the script says so? That was very intentional,” he added.
The podcast clip has resurfaced and gone viral, leading to intense criticism on social media platforms. Fans and followers have expressed disappointment and anger towards Mutua, accusing him of unprofessional and unethical behaviour.
Nairobi News attempted to contact Abel Mutua, but his phone was switched off.
His friend and colleague, Timothy Kimani, also known as Njugush, clarified that Abel’s statement was taken out of context.
He told Nairobi News:
“If the full video had been posted, it would have made it easier for people to understand what Abel meant. Anyone who watched Tahidi High knows the relationship between Tanya (Sarah Hassan) and OJ (Dennis Mugo) was real. Freddie (Abel Mutua) always hoped to be with Tanya, but it never happened. Also, everyone believed OJ wasn’t right for Tanya,” Njugush explained.
He continued; “Towards the end, everyone wanted Tanya to be with OJ and would plan ways to make it harder for Freddie. Everyone was against Freddie being with Tanya. So, when Abel was given that opportunity to script in the end, he decided to bring a twist, not as Sarah Hassan but as Tanya. People have taken it out of context.”
Njugush urged people to watch the scene again to fully understand it before passing judgement.