Specific encounters, whether good or bad, can change our perspective of things. Bad experiences in life are the ones that will be very hard to forget, and Malik Yoba is one who has changed after going through such an experience. He went through a near-death experience when he was still young, which has resulted in him appreciating any moment in his life. Malik survived a gunshot and decided to start serving people in any way that builds them either materialistically or spiritually. Born on September 17, 1967, in New York, Malik has grown into a professional actor, having developed the passion for acting while still young. Get to know of some facts about the actor through these facts detailed below.
1. He was shot at the age of 15
Malik got shot when he was 15 and survived as revealed on Twitter. After the encounter, Malik chose never to own a gun. He also insisted that the country should have better gun control to prevent related gun activities that might affect innocent people. Malik also diverted himself to serving other people since he believed he had been given another chance and therefore was not ready to waste it. His post encouraged most of his fans to join him in fighting against illegal possession of guns by individuals.
2. Service to humanity is what drives his life
Malik says that even if he still had more time to live, he would continue serving humanity. He intends to live his life to the fullest, and he feels satisfied when he serves other people. Malik keeps making sure that no day goes without him interacting with people and offering the help that they might need. Malik believes that it could be their turn today, but tomorrow he might also need their help.
3. He is the founder of Iconic32
Malik is the founder of a company by the name Iconic32 that aims to educate young people. In an attempt to make an impact in the lives of people, he believes that he should lead by example. The company has a mission to drive social values to young people through pop culture. According to Global Grind, Malik feels he has accomplished the company’s mission when the people are happy about the excellent work it is doing.
4. He was fired from “Empire” after season one for outing Jussie Smollett
In a world that is trying to fight for equal rights for every person regardless of race, background, or sexual orientation, Lee Daniels seems to have contradicted himself. Lee Daniels, the co-creator of the series, is openly gay but when Malik Yoba went ahead to out Jussie as gay, his character in “Empire” as one of Lucious’s right-hand men was killed. Although Malik discovered that his utterances had cost him a lucrative paycheck and tried to clear the comment, the damage was done. There was no amount of retraction that would make Lee Daniels take him back. According to Atlanta Daily. Even Jussie told fans they should not assume him to be gay, without necessarily denying it.
5. He has separated from his wife
Malik was previously married to Cat Wilson, but it was not all bliss, so the marriage did not last. The two have two children together and were married for three years. They separated because of reasons revolving around their busy lifestyle. Before meeting Cat Wilson, he was in a relationship with Terry Barbosa. According to Rhyme with Snitch, the two separated because Cat saw pictures of Malik with other women. Malik is not happy about the separation since he expected their marriage to last forever abut fate had other plans.
6. Honors and awards
Malik has performed well in the acting industry. He has been nominated four times into the Image Awards out of which he won three times in 3 consecutive years; in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Malik also won an award in 2016 for the American Black Film Festival. He performed well in the same year in “Bad Dad Rehab” and got a nomination to honor of NAMIC Vision.
7. He loves transgender women
In one of his slogans, Malik says that fear and shame should not be our Gods. According to BET, while Malik was speaking for the transgender community, he admitted that he loves transgender women. Many of his fans were delighted, and Malik got applause for speaking the truth. The transgender people had not received considerations in society, but he assisted in their recognition. He insisted that he will continue with his effort in transforming the transgender community.
8. He has a net worth of $3 million
Through his career in acting and part-time work in writing, Malik has amassed wealth that is worth $3 million. Apart from the television shows and films that he is part of, he has also formed various companies and organizations. These companies provide multiple services to the people and generate income out of them. He has a theatre that he founded in 2003 and also nonprofit organizations that assist children and youths in exploring their talents.
9. He once was published as dead
Malik has been through an incident that led to many people believing that he was a drug addict and dead. In 2015, one blogger posted on his website rumors of Malik’s addiction to drugs. The site further mentioned that Malik was drunk and died following killings from his colleagues. All the allegations were false, and he tracked down the blogger for an explanation of the same. The blogger had to retract all his statements publicly, and Malik had to assure his fans that he was not a drug addict.
10. Social media presence
Malik makes use of his social media to talk about his personal life and what he encounters along the way. Most of his testimonies can be traced to his Instagram and Twitter, where he has 230k followers on Instagram and a total of 1,928 posts. Malik says in his Instagram bio that he tells stories that assist in building things. His Twitter, where he has 216.8k followers, has a total of 16.9k tweets, which are interactions between him and the fans.
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