Nigerians Must Stop Judging Nollywood Actresses – Mojisola Adebanjo

Nollywood actress Mojisola Adebanjo has urged Nigerians to stop judging actors based on the roles they portray on screen. She recently had her say during an interview with Saturday Beats, and fans have been reacting.

Addressing common misconceptions that often affect the personal lives and relationships of actors, especially actresses, Moji stated that several people enter relationships with female moviestars carrying preconceived notions.

Shutting down assumptions that actresses are flirtatious, disloyal, or constantly seeking attention, Mojisola added that the stereotype is very exhausting.

Her words, “Misconceptions are brutal. ‘Actresses are flirty,’ ‘public women can’t be loyal,’ ‘she’s always busy.’ The ‘actresses are like this or that’ stereotype is exhausting.

People assume you’re always acting, always unavailable, or always chasing clout. Those stereotypes make people bring insecurity into relationships from day one.

Serious partners sometimes struggle with the hours, the kissing scenes, or being in the public eye. I would like them to just see us as professionals. For example, a male medical doctor who attends to women is not misjudged because of his career path.

The pressure isn’t just ‘be pretty.’ It’s ‘stay visible.’ Nollywood can be quick to celebrate the face on the poster before the craft behind it.

Men age like fine wine. Women get told, and they’re too old for certain roles. Body, weight, skin; people talk about everything. But I love myself so much, and I don’t allow all the negative comments to affect me.”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.