Nollywood actress Habibat Jinadu has disclosed that she resorted to bleaching her skin in an attempt to land movie roles, following what she described as discrimination against dark-skinned actresses in the film industry.
Jinadu made the revelation during an interview with BBC Yoruba, where she spoke about the challenges she faced while trying to secure acting jobs.
According to the actress, movie directors at the time favoured fair-skinned and chubby performers, leaving dark-skinned and slim actresses with fewer opportunities.
She further revealed that the pressure to change her complexion intensified after someone once likened her to a monkey because of her dark skin.
“Back then, if you were not fair, nobody would call you for jobs. Whenever they turned the light on us on a movie set, the director would say I was too dark. I didn’t pay much attention to it until someone said I looked like a monkey,” she said.
“I bleached my skin because if you were dark-skinned, then you would not get a role. Also, if you were not chubby but slim, you would not get a role,” she said.
She explained that she eventually went ahead to bleach her skin and it worked.
“So, I went ahead, bleached my skin and started expecting to get roles. And indeed, I started getting roles,” she said.
However, the change came with consequences. She said people could no longer recognise her outside movie sets.
“But people could not recognise me any longer. If I stepped out to buy something, people would go like, ‘You look familiar,’ ‘You look like an actress,’” she recounted.
She also revealed she started sustaining injuries and skin tears from minor bruises on set.
“Then, I started sustaining injuries and tears from minor bruises on sets and all,” she said.
According to her, the turning point came in 2023 when she became pregnant.
“It all dawned on me when I got pregnant in 2023. And when you are pregnant, you cannot bleach your skin,” she said.
Jinadu said she stopped bleaching after that, but faced backlash.
“When I eventually stopped, people started abusing me and calling me all sorts of names,” she said.
