Veteran actress Jumoke George recently shared the painful experiences that led to her 14-year absence from Nollywood, speaking candidly in an interview on Oyinmomo TV. In the interview, she exposed the exploitative practices of some film industry figures who prioritized appearance and sexual favors over true talent.
Jumoke, who has always embraced her dark complexion, recounted being pressured by directors to bleach her skin to meet narrow beauty standards. Refusing to comply with these demands, she faced relentless criticism and was eventually blacklisted, as a director bluntly told her that she would not succeed unless she engaged in “removal of pants.” The 59-year-old actress bravely highlighted these painful realities to shed light on the darker side of the industry.
She said in parts;
“My skin tone was not the only setback I encountered in this business. The other reason why I did not get any roles or see the back of a lens for 14 years is because I refused to sleep around. For my skin tone, they complained that I was too dark and I would tell them to add my lightning to the scene to make me look lighter,” she said.
“You cannot push me into something I do not want to do. I will glow with this skin till old age and do not forget, black does not crack. I started having issues with getting roles when the executives wanted a relationship in exchange for it. The pressure was getting immense and it was more than 20 to 30 people.
“Another thing was that if you dated one of them, broke up, and went ahead to date someone else, they would discuss you among themselves. I said to myself that as long as God exists, I would not find myself in such a space. I had to do so to avoid becoming a pass-around among them”
WATCH HER SPEAK IN CLIP BELOW;
