The talented actress Jumoke George has opened up about her 14-year hiatus from the movie industry.
The actress disclosed in a recent Oyinmomo TV show that her extended break was caused by her dark skin tone and refusal to trade sex for opportunities.
Jumoke, who resumed acting a few years ago, revealed that film producers frequently remarked on her dark skin tone and suggested she lighten it.
She also remembered a time when a director informed her that she was being placed on a blacklist because she wouldn’t sleep with them.
“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.
“I did not get any acting roles for about three years, I did not understand what was happening. One day I was at Feminine Cafe at LTV 8, and I met one of our directors, I would not mention his name. I asked him what happened that he did not call me for roles, and he asked me ‘Jummy, you want to feature in movies?’.
“He then told me that their group of directors decided not to call me roles and I was like why? He said it was because I was refusing to sleep with them… he also asked me what was the benefit of my refusing their advances. I just started crying and he walked out. When I got home, I prayed to God to take control. “
