“Not everybody is going to like you, and that’s one of the tough lessons I [have] learned” Shirley Frimpong-Manso has said.

On the sidelines of the 2024 Woman of Valour conference, the celebrated movie producer and director, who was a guest speaker, was asked by Doreen Avio how she handles criticism.

She answered by mentioning Nollywood star Rita Dominic’s “submission” at the event, noting one must learn the “art of closing your ears”.

She emphasised the necessity of controlling what one exposes themselves to, especially “if you’re out there [in the public space], you have to learn how to do that…”

“If you’re a personality, celebrity, known person, people will come at you. You’ll have people who will support you, and people who don’t support you,” she added, urging public figures to come to terms with this reality.

Ms Frimpong-Manso said this was something she “recognised” and came to terms with only “a few years ago”.

The writer cautioned public figures against “dwelling on the negatives” when it is more productive to “imbibe more of the positives”.

Social media

Turning her attention to online abuse, she said: “When it comes to social media, we all have to turn it off at some point. “Switch it off sometimes. It’s very good.”

“And I don’t let social media rule my life. I come on social media when I need to. I don’t live or abide by the rules of social media.”

The Sparrows Production CEO explained “I love my followers” and “I’m humble enough to acknowledge their support” but observed, also, how unnerving it is that “a lot of these people are faceless – you don’t know them”.

She recalled once exploring the account of a troll in her comments, only to discover it was “a kid”.

“That’s when it hit me that there are so many of these people who are just kids. They are probably just playing,” she highlighted, noting: “So you can’t take these things too seriously.”

The serial movie hitmaker encouraged creative arts players to go for excellence and not bank all their hopes on their numbers on social media accounts.  

“You have to first believe in what you’re doing – it needs to come from somewhere. You can’t completely rely on social media,” she said.

Beaming, the award-winning filmmaker noted the importance of fans, especially in keeping public figures in check.

“But we thank our followers anyway. They put us on our toes. And you have to have the balancing act. You need to be able to manage it," Shirley Frimpong-Manso said.