Veteran and versatile actress, Jumoke George has been speaking about the harrowing experiences she had that made her took a break from acting for almost 14 years, reports thegazellenews.com
According to the versatile actress, these experiences have contributed immensely in shaping her life.
According to her, one of the early challenges she faced in her acting career were: sexual harassment from producers and directors and the colour of her skin.
George narrated her experience during her appearance at a television programme, Oyinmomo.
She recalled moments when her integrity was put to the test, as she faced relentless pressure from influential film directors demanding that she compromise her values in exchange for roles.
Her refusal to succumb to this challenge cost her several film roles for more than a decade.
The actress whose rich dark skin has always been a source of pride, also recounted how ironically the skin was used against her from getting movie roles.
According to her, she faced relentless criticism from directors who, rather than recognizing her immense talent, suggested she bleach her skin to fit their narrow standards of beauty.
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”.
