Nollywood Actresses Are Not Harlots – Joke Lawal

Nollywood actress, Joke Lawal has come out to say that some narratives about the movie industry and movie stars need to change.

The movie star recently revealed this in an interview with Vanguard, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to her, actresses are not prostitutes who are not worthy of marriage and having a family, as opposed to the general thought among most Nigerians.

Joke added that she wants to also see a change in the way our stories are written and interpreted, plus in the quality of Nigeria’s film productions.

His words, “I would like to change people’s perception of actresses. A lot of people think of actresses as prostitutes, they see us as people who are not worthy of marriage and having a family. If I have the power this is something I will like to change. I will also like to see a change in the way our stories are written and interpreted, and in the quality of our film productions. Another thing I would like to change too is, how poorly actors are paid. As a producer, I will like a situation where I can pay every actor that works on my project even if the person acts in just one scene. As an upcoming actress, I acted in movies and didn’t get paid but because I was still new in the industry I didn’t have a choice. God help me, these are things I will like to change in the movie industry.”

What do you think?

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.