Cinderella Sanyu: Cindy in Red Pepper

Continues from: Cinderella Sanyu: How Cindy Left Blu 3

UGPulse Promo

Peter: Before we get into the music, there is one other scandal... Right?... The (nude) photos... (I'm quick to honestly add...) I personally haven't seen them...

Cindy: Hmnn... Thank God. (Clearly deeply relieved... We both laugh. I'm only laughing first because she seems to have taken this turn in the interview so well but also because she seems to be tickled by the fact that I had not seen her nude photos.)

Every time I meet someone who hasn't seen the pictures I'm so happy. Seriously... It feels real good. (And almost musically...) Aaah... (I'm still laughing at her reaction. She is clearly overjoyed.) I feel descent.

Peter: So... So what exactly went on... How were they gotten a hold of...?

Cindy: Hmnn... (She's recovering from her tickled state getting a little more serious... getting ready to answer.)

Peter: (Offering a defense in advance to put her at ease...) I mean in the States it... it...

Cindy: It happens... Yeah... And some people do it as a stunt. I know that. I mean... (She chuckles...) This is not the country where you do it for a stunt... seriously... It isn't.

(The story begins...)

What happened is that I took those pictures over three years ago. Three years before they were actually published. So I was young... (She pauses) I was naiive, I was stupid... and I was in love... you know. So I didn't think about the consequences... or whatever was going to happen. These were MY pictures in MY camera.

Peter: At this time you were with your present boyfriend?

Cindy: Yes I was with my present boyfriend. I guess both of us were young... and we were just excited! So we did that... We used to exchange pictures when he was away. So they were on email and I had... I didn't have them in my camera... they were just on email. So after he stopped using his old email account and started with a new one, he did not check his old email account for a really long time.

So it... What happened is that some people called me and then they were like, "we have pictures of you nude. We have your nude pictures. And if you don't pay us we are going to publish them." I was like... (She stops to indicate she was frozen in disbelief...) Naaah... (She laughs.) I said that's not true... Seriously...

Peter: When was this?

Cindy: That was before the pictures were released... Like three weeks before the pictures were actually...

Peter: I mean when exactly did this all take place?

Cindy: Last year around... Let me see... I came back in March... May... June...

Peter: Before Mbikooye or after...

Mbikooye

Cindy: Mbikooye was out... But it was getting there... It wasn't really there... It was just getting there. So I was starting to build... (Takes a deep breath.) ...my solo career. You know... and then this... this... (She lets out a little nervous laugh...)

Peter: (I also laugh quietly.)

Cindy: (She continues with her story...) So when they called me asking me for money... I... I didn't believe them. I didn't believe them one bit... I was like nah... "There is no way you have those pictures... I mean... Where did you get them?" So... I... Three weeks later...(Chuckles again...)

Peter: Did you talk to your boyfriend?

Cindy: I... I didn't tell him. Because I didn't think it was important... You know... I was like... Agghh! These are just people who called me and they want to get money out of me. And there was no proof that they had pictures. In my head it didn't... I was like those pictures... the only one who has them is my boyfriend. I deleted everything from my camera.

So three weeks later... Ba-am!!!

(She is grinning from some sort of "amused and embarrassed" shock.)

You know... The pictures were there...

Peter: Where did they first come out?

Cindy: Aaaaaaaah... In the Red Pepper.

Peter: Did you find them or did someone...

Cindy: No... My boyfriend came back a week before they were released. So that night... Because you start seeing Sunday papers like around 3 am. So people start calling me at 3 am... and I'm wondering... My family... Everybody... like, "Have you seen the Red Pepper?" I'm like, "No."... "Please check it out." ... You know?.... I'm like, "Why?" (Nervous chuckles again.)... They say... "Just... Just check it out. Its not nice." Nobody could tell me anything! ...Till ten in the morning!!.. You know... My phone was buzzing off the hook! Then ten in the morning one of my other friends calls me (and asks the same thing) ... and I was like "Please... Please... Just read what's in the papers... Tell me what is there."

Then he said, "There are nude pictures of you."

I was like, "Me?!"... "Like... Me?"

(Chuckles nervously again... a little louder. This time I laugh too.)

"I think so... I mean it looks like you. The pictures look raw." ...you know?

So I asked him to read the story... Then he read the story... and... It was heartbreaking.

Peter: Where you crying at this point?

Cindy: I... yes... First I was crying... I couldn't even talk for a couple of hours. It was very depressing. Really! Then after a while... After so many people talking to me... I was really upset. Instead of being angry I got really upset. Cuz I was like... Who can do that to someone? Who have I hurt that much? That they want to totally destroy me!? You know... This is the worst thing you can do to a woman.

Peter: Hmnnn...

Cindy: Your nakedness... It was so bad... My kid sisters were crying. They couldn't go to school. People were like, "Look at Cindy. This is what she does." I mean everybody had their own side of the story. So my mum... Her friends were like calling, "We thought your girl was a Super Star. Look what she is doing." You know... It... It was terrible. Everybody was crying... It was... (Sighs.) I can't describe it.

My boyfriend didn't know what to do. (Chuckles) Seriously... He didn't know... He went back to his email... He deleted everything. God... Everybody knew... You know... He tried to check everywhere. But he couldn't figure out how they got in the wrong hands... except if somebody got his password... or maybe...

Peter: How about YOUR password? I mean you're the one who sent them.

Cindy: I didn't have them in my email. I sent them and deleted them. You know... Something this private... So I didn't have them anywhere in my email.

So it happens. I had to...(Deep breath.) I don't know.

Peter: How have you and your family moved on?

Cindy: I... I...

Peter: Are there still any...?

Cindy: No... no... no... There is nothing at all right now. Nothing. Not even my fans talk about it. When I go to shows people no longer talk about it. When I go to interviews people are actually too shy to actually ask me about it. Because... (Deep breath.) They... They know how it feels... Somehow. They do.

Peter: (Oh thanks... So now I'm a pervert...) I haven't seen them so I guess that's why...

Cindy: (She laughs.) At first it was terrible. I couldn't do shows for like... a month I guess. So everybody was like... Take a holiday... Leave the country. You know... Let them forget about them. I said that even if I left the country, its gonna be the same. Even if I came back a year later I'm still this girl who appeared in the Red Pepper naked. You know...

Peter: Hmnnn...

Cindy: So I had to somehow get the strength... I had to pray a lot. I had to talk to... surround myself with all the positive people. All the people who were really trying to make me feel down about it... I had to chase them away... (Nervous chuckles again.) You know... Cause all I needed was to be positive in that moment.

A lot of people had different stories about it... "Oh! Blu 3 had done it." Or this person and that... But I don't know who did it. I don't think I want to find out.

Peter: Did you ever talk to the girls... Lillian and Jacqui...

Cindy: About it? (Almost in shock. Then with emphasis...) N...noh! Hmnn Hmnnn... (She starts to laugh...)

Peter: W... w... what is your relationship now between you and the girls?

Cindy: Kind of like Tupac and Notorious. (She laughs.)

Cinderella Sanyu aka Cindy.

Next... Cindy talks about the girls of Blu 3 and much more...

Continues at: Cinderella Sanyu: The Unfinished Duo with P Square