On a recent 53-minute chat with Plug TV, comedian Erastus Otieno, alias Flaqo, revealed the darker side of his career.
Flaqo, who has previously spoken about his mental health, disclosed that he had to take a break due to the overwhelming voices he was hearing, largely from social media.
“I had to take a break cause I was falling apart, cause there were so many voices I wasn’t used to hearing. Most of those voices were from social media and they were tearing me down,” he said.
Despite his attempts to ignore the negative feedback, it took a toll on him, with Flaqo admitting that it started eating away at him.
Flaqo also shared that he didn’t perform comedy solely for the money, but for the love of it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he made a significant amount of money, taking on numerous adverts, but ultimately felt that it was compromising his art.
“During Covid 19 I made a lot of money. I was taking every advert that came to me. Adverts upon adverts. But I realised that it was leading me astray and I wasn’t enjoying myself. It was like I had sold my soul,” he revealed.
When asked about his earnings during the pandemic, Flaqo estimated that it could have reached up to Sh 20 million, although he noted that this was only during that period.
