Hanks Anuku bemoans job losses and family neglect following the 2022 viral “mad” video.

A widely shared video from 2022 showed well-known Nigerian actor Hanks Anuku seeming lost and wearing unkempt clothes.

Internet users were stunned by the footage and worried about the actor’s mental state.

Actress Shan George quickly clarified the situation, but the harm had already been done.

In June 2024, Hanks has disclosed the detrimental effects the video and the accusations that followed it had on his personal and professional life.

In an interview with YouTuber Lucky Udu, Hanks stated that the video was from a movie set and that he was just getting ready for a role in which he would play a mentally disturbed person, according to vanguardngr.com.

“I was attempting to get into the mindset of a crazy character that I was going to play. Someone who was not in his right mind or with his senses.

As a result, I had to naturally observe the setting in order to play it in that same neighborhood. Hanks Anuku said, “I was just demonstrating how the director wanted me to do it, which was by meditating and entering character.”

The actor made it clear that he wasn’t sick or under the influence of anything.

“They made a lot of statements. They said that I was sad and that I was doing drugs, although I am neither of those things. Stress is a possible side effect of depression. However, that is untrue given that I use drugs:

“I am extremely sane; I am not a madman,” he declared.

Hanks Anuku also talked about the psychological toll the incident had on him, saying that the false information from the video cost him money, friends, and career possibilities.

“Producers stopped contacting me for jobs, and I lost friends.” I lost a lot of money, I lost employment, and I was jobless. People showed no concern for me. my household as well. God guided me in the direction of a good soul,” he said.