Johnson Chege popularly known as Njoroge in the TV drama ‘Auntie boss’ revealed that most comedians suffer from loneliness which leads them to drunkenness and depression.
In an interview with standard the actor said that “a majority of people fail to understand comedians as much is expected of them.”
“Most comedians are loners since people do not understand us. We go through so much, we make people laugh but the question is who makes us laugh?”
“Comedians end up drinking too much and are depressed. Most people don’t understand how you can be in low moods or sad. They always demand you crack jokes for them and that’s why we tend to keep away from friends and sometimes, even family,” he said.
Njoroge’s story comes in the wake of revealing depressive stories surrounding the laugh industry circles.
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Last month comedian Eric Omondi came out to share his story and what might have led to the sudden death of fellow comedian Njenga Mswahili.
Njenga passed away last month after his body was discovered near railway tracks under unclear circumstances.
Pressure in the industry
In a recent interview with Citizen TV Eric allege that Mswahili might have succumbed to depression related cases.
“I knew him personally and I knew what he was going through for the longest time, and most of us assumed that he would be fine. And it is something that many of us have gone through, some of us were lucky to come out of it,” he said.
“When you come into fame and this celebrity status there are certain things if you are not able to handle, it is easy to go down that road of depression and so most of us go through it, but now am thinking it’s starting to become more serious.”
He went on, to paint a picture within the industry noting that, celebrities often face a lot of challenges that they do not show the public before making it in life, “as they are seen differently and are, therefore, expected to be at a different level in the society.”
“I joined Churchill in 2009… And five months down the line I become extremely famous and extremely broke with equal measure. If I got into a matatu going to town people think you are pranking them.”
“The pressure is real, we put a certain standard image, there is that which we expect of you as a celebrity when we see you on TV,” he said.
He insisted on the importance of mentorship so as to avert such situations.
“All celebrities if they are not mentored, even if they have money most of them die out.”
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