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Nollywood actress Ayobami Ojo has spoken emotionally about the challenges she says have followed her because of public perceptions attached to being identified as an actress, revealing that she has lost business opportunities and faced personal disappointment because of assumptions people make about entertainers.
In a video shared on Instagram, the actress opened up about experiences that have left her frustrated and questioning whether she still wants to be associated with acting at all.
According to Ojo, she no longer wants to be introduced as an actress and believes the label has become a disadvantage in parts of her personal and professional life.
Expressing her frustration, she said she feels judged not for her individual actions but because of broad stereotypes people attach to women in the entertainment industry.
“I am tired of being called an actress. Stop calling me an actress,” she said.
Ojo explained that despite spending years in the film industry, she does not believe she has lived in a way that should attract the kind of assumptions she constantly encounters.
She maintained that she has tried to protect her reputation and conduct herself responsibly throughout her career.
“I stopped being an actress years ago, and even when I was an actress, I never did anything wrong. I say this with my full chest. I didn’t do anything wrong to anybody.”
The actress went on to describe incidents she said convinced her that public opinion about actresses continues to affect real-life opportunities.
One of those experiences, according to her, involved an attempt to purchase landed property in Lagos.
She explained that after showing interest and preparing for the transaction, she was eventually unable to complete the purchase because the seller’s family objected to dealing with someone connected to the movie industry.
“The last time I was trying to buy a landed property in Lagos, I didn’t get it because the seller’s wife said, ‘Oh, I don’t want my husband to sell this land to an actress.’”
According to Ojo, another experience happened when she attempted to secure a property for business purposes.
She said she had shown strong interest in the location before the landlord allegedly changed his mind after hearing about her profession.
“Another one I was really interested in… the man was told, ‘This woman doesn’t live here. She goes to the UK and back. She is an actress.’ Immediately he heard I was an actress, he said, ‘I’m not renting my house to an actress.’ What did we do to you, people?”
Beyond business and property matters, Ojo also revealed that she believes those stereotypes have affected her love life.
Speaking about her current relationship, she disclosed that she is seeing someone and has developed strong feelings for him, but fears outside opinions could interfere.
“Now I am seeing someone. I am talking to that person, and yes, I am so in love with that person. Then one family member or friend tells him, ‘No, you cannot marry an actress. They do juju too much,’” she said.
She questioned why some people continue to discourage relationships with actresses and suggested that assumptions often come from fellow women.
“This person is my fellow woman. She doesn’t want anything good for me because whenever she sees a good man trying to ask me out, she says, ‘Actresses are not good.’”
Ojo insisted that many actresses live responsible and hardworking lives but are unfairly grouped together and judged.
She said she has avoided scandals and controversies yet still experiences criticism because of her profession.
“I have not trended for anything bad on Instagram. The only problem people have with me is because they say actresses are bad. So you automatically think we are bad.”
The actress also defended the source of her income, explaining that she has worked extensively abroad to build financial stability.
“I worked so hard for my money. Sometimes, I work 12 to 14 hours in the UK just to save money.”
Reflecting on her experiences, Ojo said she had wanted to publicly discuss the issue much earlier after losing the land opportunity but decided to remain silent at the time.
Now, however, she says she is reconsidering her relationship with the profession altogether.
“If it is to outrightly sell the last film I made, I would. I don’t know what to do with it; maybe just give it to charity. I am tired of being called an actress. Please, stop calling me an actress.”
Ayobami Ojo is known for her appearances in films including Luwo Gbagida (2025), Iwe Iranti (2018), and Atupa (2018).
Watch her speak below…
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