Nollywood controversial actress Tonto Dikeh took a big fall over the weekend at Iyanya’s concert in the UK. The concert was hosted by Ropo Akin (owner of Cokobar), a well known event organizer/promoter in the UK, especially among the Africa/African diaspora community.
Needless to say, blogs have gone crazy about the fall, partly because for many, Dikeh is the controversial personality that will do whatever it takes to get attention. Blogs have reported the reactions of fans and the public at large and it seems many are getting a good laugh from the fall and also accusingher of being intoxicated on stage.
In any event, Dikeh has finally responded to all the laughters, mockery and insinuations that she must have been intoxicated. She denies being intoxicated but blames her high heels, long dress and most importantly, a “slippery floor” for the fall.
I am more interested in the slippery fall because it is not uncommon for women to wear long dresses or high heels on stage. It is also not uncommon for them, if they are talents hosting an event, to move in the way Dikeh did on stage i.e. dance to a song etc. See clip below. This means it leaves us with Dikeh’s accussation of what essentially amounts to negligence on the part of the event organizer/promoter Ropo Akin in hosting an event where the floor is allegedly “slippery.”
We have heard one too many times African acts falling on stage when performing. The reaction has been a good laugh and a “serves him or her” right, depending on the individual and the level of inflated ego aka “shakarism” by the affected talent.
However, in light of the Miguel leg drop sitaution here in the USA (Miguel’s leg drop at the Billboard Music Awards which has allegedly caused brain damage to a victim at the event and a potential lawsuit lurking), let’s talk about the responsibilities of promoters/event organizers when they invite talents such as Tonto Dikeh or Iyanya to perform on stage, especially for those in the West.
For talents, whether you are invited to host an event, sing, dance or crack jokes, among other talents you may have, the person inviting you has a duty to inspect the premises they are inviting you to perform at for any dangers. They have a duty to warn you of such dangers and to make safe the dangers i.e. fix the problem. If you get injured on the premises, they have a duty to help rescue you. They can’t just stand and watch. These aforementioned duties are under US law but UK law is not that much of a difference since US “common law” draws from the UK and has refined the above legal principles over time.
Given my discussion above, was Cokobar/Ropo Akin negligent by providing an alleged slippery floor as a platform for Tonto Dikeh to host Iyanya’s concert?
It may be funny but a fall like this, for any talent, is potentially dangerous and can seriously undermine their ability to do what they do to earn their livelihood.
What are your thoughts or is this just a case of Dikeh not knowing how to walk in high heels and a dress since she typically, in the public eye, is always caught in clothing that is above the knee.
-Uduak Oduok
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Ms. Uduak Oduok is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Ladybrille® Magazine. She is also a Practicing Attorney and Partner at Ebitu Law Group, P.C, ebitulawgrp.com where her practice areas include Business Litigation and Fashion & Entertainment Law. She has counseled a range of clients from musicians, models, actors and actresses to designers on numerous areas of the law including contracts, business law, fashion and entertainment law, copyright, trademark i.e. intellectual property law. She can be reached at ([email protected]) to share/pitch your fashion law related stories for a feature on Ladybrille. All other inquiries, please visit the www.ladybrillemag.com/contact page for appropriate contact email.
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