Diamond Michelle Gbagonah, a Ghanaian socialite and presenter also known as Michy Gh, schooled the celebrity impersonators who have taken over the internet with identical looks and demeanor to the actual artists.
In a video, Michy explained to the impersonators that it is illegal to use someone else's name for amusement or fraudulent purposes because doing so harms the reputation of the actual person.
Since celebrities own their images and works of art, which are typically protected by copyright, Michy continued, it is improper to use their names even for amusement.
Therefore, it is expected that lookalikes will ask their idols for permission before performing their songs or putting their faces out there for amusement.
Even though online reports suggest otherwise, one of the impersonators—who identifies himself as the popular highlife musician Kuami Eugene's lookalike—immediately responded and denied taking money from the general public to perform the music of their heroes.
Michy emphasized that it didn't matter because a lot of harm could still be done while someone was acting as someone else in her response.
Michy gave her fans an explanation in the description of the Instagram video she released of her interview with the impersonators.
She stated that her goal was to inform the lookalikes about the risks that their pursuit would subject them to, not to garner their favor or amuse them with her platform.