Gospel musician Celestine Donkor has apologized after facing criticism for comments she made during a recent interview on TV3’s “Today’s Women”.
During the conversation, Celestine and host Cookie Tee, both of Ewe descent, engaged in a lighthearted exchange about the perceived heaviness of Ewe names and Celestine’s preference for marrying someone with a “lighter” name.
However, their banter sparked backlash from viewers and social media users, who deemed the comments inappropriate and offensive.
In response, Celestine took to Instagram to apologize, stating that her comments were intended as a joke but acknowledging that they missed the mark. “In retrospect, it turned out to be a bad joke, an expensive joke,” she wrote.
Despite her initial intention to poke fun at herself and her culture, Celestine expressed regret for any offense caused and took responsibility for her words.
“Who am I? I’m just human. Most of the time we go on these interviews, as much as we have a pure heart and a clear mind, it’s not everything we say that we’re pleasing to somebody, and so we take it,” she added.
Celestine Donkor said that this incident in no war erodes her pride in her culture as an Ewe, who truly believes the language is special and spiritual.
“I have proven it over the years in my journey in music that I am a very, very proud Ewe,” adding that her daughters all carry names from the culture.
Despite the controversy, Celestine Donkor expressed gratitude for the feedback received, interpreting it as an expression of love from her audience.
“With love and respect to all of you, I take all the comments in good faith,” she stated.
