Nollywood actress Damilola Oni has shared how a senior colleague almost ended her career.
In an interview on Oyinmomo TV, she revealed that a senior colleague, whose name she didn’t mention, didn’t want to work with her. According to her, the colleague said he doesn’t want to work with her and can’t be on the same set.
Damilola recalled a moment when she was supposed to be a lead member in a major role and arrived on set, only to be ignored for hours. She said the producer came to her room and asked about the beef she had with the colleague, who said he didn’t want to work with her.
Damilola said she was distraught and pained and wanted to leave, but kicked against it because she didn’t want the person to feel he had crushed her. The Yoruba actress said she wouldn’t give up, noting that the sky is big enough for everyone.
“Someone once said they can never work with me. I don’t know if it was an offence, but the person said they can’t work with me, that they can’t work on the same set with me.
In fact, there was a time when I was on set and supposed to play a role. It was quite a big one for me, and I was excited about it. I had waited for five, six, and even eight hours, and no one had attended to me. I was wondering why I hadn’t started filming when I was supposed to be the lead actor. Later, the producer came into the room and asked if I had offended a certain person. I asked what happened, and he said the person we were supposed to act together with said we had to pick between them and you. And he said he can’t pick me over the person. So, I said there is no problem. So I asked what next, and he said the only thing he could do is to offer me a minor role with about 4 to 5 scenes. That’s what I will end up doing. I wanted to pick up my bag and leave. I was distraught, I was pained, but I thought that leaving would mean that I allowed the person to crush me, and I didn’t want to. Because we will both succeed in our careers, and no one can frustrate me to stop this job. The sky is big enough for everyone to fly”.
Elsewhere in the interview, Dami spoke about the advances she gets from men, revealing that they bombard her DMs with nude pictures and erotic messages.
“Sometimes I will open my Instagram page early in the morning and find a man’s nude picture. They’ll tell me that they’re everything I need. Some people will tell me in the comment section that they watched me on African Magic and got horny and masturbated. Yes, they are masturbating just by watching me on TV.
I am single. Because people make advances at me doesn’t mean they’re my spec”.
The busty Yoruba actress noted how the industry is now based on hype rather than talent.
“From time immemorial, the person with hype mostly excels over the talented ones. You have to spice it up because that’s what it takes now. Because sometimes, the people who should have excelled and become famous aren’t the ones that we hear about now. But for those who can hype themselves, they have gained the world”.