(CNN)It was in a New York cab. That's when Grammy Award-winning signer Angelique Kidjo realized the extent that "fear-bola" had spread. 

"The driver just asked, 'where are you from?' Of course I have an accent, and I'm not going to hide the fact that I'm from West Africa. Then he said, 'Ebola', and I said, 'do I LOOK like I have Ebola?'" 

Later, when announcing her recently wrapped up Carnegie Hall tribute to South African singer Miriam Makeba, aka, Mama Africa, the trolls came out again. 

"It should be Mama Ebola," one wrote, and "I wonder if she is bringing any Ebloa (sic) with her?" chimed in another. 

"Until that point, I felt the hysteria of it, but I kept saying to myself, 'it's just the media.' Then it comes to you direct." 

Overall, she's not been impressed with how the Western media has covered the epidemic. In her opinion, the current coverage represents a tragically lost opportunity. 

"I thought Ebola would bring greater journalism, that they'd write about the need for great nurses and great doctors, or how every human being on this planet has the right to a good healthcare system," she confesses. Clearly, she's been disappointed. 

"I hoped they'd show the beauty of the people. But it's much more dramatic and more entertaining to show us dying." 

In typical Kidjo fashion, she channeled her outrage into advocacy, and penned a New York Times op-ed. That is how the Benin-born singer-songwriter operates. When something makes her angry, she speaks out. 
What did she do in response?
penned a New York Times op-ed