My Experience With Randy Director – Omoni Oboli Opens Up

Nollywood actor and director, Omoni Oboli, is one of the most powerful women in the industry today. But before Omoni got to the level that she is today, she also faced her own share of challenges coming up in the entertaintment industry. Now, during an interview on Glasshouse With AY, Omoni Oboli opens up about her experience with a randy director and the reality of so many young women in the entertainment industry and beyond. Here’s what she said.

During her interview, Omoni Oboli was asked “Were there any forms of challenges you faced in the industry as a woman, and how did you overcome all the lions?” She responded:

OMONI OBOLI: I am not going to say that I had harassment, but I was solicited and I’m guessing almost every young girl that comes into the industry would experience some sort of something at some point. So I was solicited but I wasn’t harassed. And it’s funny because the one scenario that comes to my mind was actually when I came back from the UK with my family and I was trying to come back into the industry as a mom with three kids. Given, I was still very young. So, looking at me, you would think I’m just a young girl, cuz I was a young girl, it’s just that I started having kids early.

One director did ask to kiss me at an audition, and I couldn’t understand why he would do that. So I was like ‘is this an audition?’ and he was like ‘yeah, I just want to see’ and I said ‘sorry, I can’t do it’. It’s funny, I kiss in movies even as a married woman right? But I didn’t see any reason why I would be kissing you the director, not on set. You’re not acting in the film, we are not on set, so why am I kissing you? And so I said ‘oh no sorry, I can’t.’ Guess what? I didn’t get the role. I travelled for that role, but I ended up travelling back. I didn’t play the role.

It’s a challenge, I’m just saying I wasn’t harassed because I had a choice. Some people get in a position where they feel like they didn’t have a choice. Some people find themselves in situations where it’s almost like rape, but it’s not. And it’s a very weird situation that a few women have found themselves in, and it’s not peculiar to our industry. Where you’re in a situation where someone is almost forcing themselves on you, but you now decide, instead of him to rape me, let me agree so that I’m not raped. It’s a very sensitive topic. I hate to talk about it because it’s really sensitive, but a few people find themselves in that position.

Source:Jide Okonjo

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