Actor laments family neglect, job losses after 2022 viral 'mad' video

In 2022, a viral video surfaced showing popular Nigerian actor Hanks Anuku in disheveled attire and looking disoriented.

The video left netizens shocked and concerned about the actor's mental health.

Despite immediate clarification from actress Shan George, the damage was done.

Fast-forward to June 2024, Hanks has opened up about how the video and allegations which resulted from it negatively impacted his life and career.

As reported by vanguardngr.com, in a discussion with YouTuber Lucky Udu, Hanks claimed that the video was from a movie set and he was merely preparing for a film role where he was mentally unstable.

"I was trying to get into character for a role I was going to play, a madman role. Someone who was not in his correct senses or right frame of mind.

"So I had to go naturally visit the environment on how I would play it in that same neighbourhood. I was just showing the way the director wanted me to do it, meditating and getting into character," Hanks Anuku stated.

The actor clarified that he was neither ill nor under the influence of substances.

"They said a lot of stuff. They said I was sick, on drugs; I am not sick, I was not on drugs, maybe they saw me depressed. Depression can bring stress. But me being on drugs, that's not true: I am not a madman, I am very sane," he said.

Hanks Anuku also shared the emotional toll the incident took on him, stating that he lost friends, money, and job opportunities due to the misinformation from the video.

"I lost friends, producers no longer contacted me for jobs. I lost a lot of money, I lost jobs, and I was jobless. People did not care about me. My family as well. It was God who directed my footsteps to a good soul," he shared.

Watch the video here.