The well-known Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde is pleading with the western film industry to stop using Black Americans as Africans in their productions.
The Last Flight to Abuja actress was reportedly unhappy with how western films represented Africans as being distinct people and urged Africans to speak out for themselves because Western filmmakers may hire A-list actors from Africa.
“The West also needs to understand our complexity and be a little more open to working with us. When you have roles for Africans, stop casting Americans as Africans. It makes no sense.
“We have to stand up for ourselves when we see movies where people are speaking as Africans in a different way. Who talks like that in Africa? These things are archaic, they are old and we should fight to stop them.
“I pray we are in that era now where African actors and filmmakers will be respected for what they bring to the table and we can really foster collaboration,” she said.
Omotola is a musician, philanthropist, and former model in addition to being an actor. The mother of four made her acting debut in 1995 with “Venom of Justice,” and since then, she has acted in more than 300 movies, with millions of copies having been sold.
She appeared on Time magazine’s list of the top 100 global influencers in 2013.
The multi-award-winning actress, who has appeared in films like “Mortal Inheritance,” “Ije,” “Blood Sisters,” “Games Women Play,” and “Brave Hearts,” made a brief appearance on VH1’s scripted series, “Hit the Floor,” that same year.
She received recognition from the Nigerian government in 2014 when she was made a Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) for her contributions to Nigerian cinema.
