Veteran Yoruba actress Ronke Odusanya has openly shared the challenges she faced in the early days of her career, highlighting the intense pressure and harassment she endured as a busty actress in Nigeria’s film industry.
In an interview with Akede Ariya Online TV, Odusanya spoke about her personal experiences with the persistent and often criticized issue of sex-for-roles in Nollywood.
According to the actress, the practice of sex-for–roles is widespread and not confined to any particular segment of the industry, affecting both the Yoruba-language and English-language sectors. She recalled being pressured by a prominent producer, identified as Alhaji Rasheed, who allegedly insisted that her breakthrough in Nollywood hinged on entering a romantic relationship with fellow actor Femi Adebayo.
Despite her repeated refusals and appeals, she said the producer remained unyielding, claiming that many of her colleagues were already participating in such arrangements to secure roles and achieve fame.
Odusanya described the ordeal as deeply distressing, revealing that the producer repeatedly threatened to sabotage her career if she refused to comply. The pressure, she said, persisted for a significant period, making it challenging for her to land acting roles during the early stages of her career. She added that the situation only improved after Femi Adebayo personally stepped in to address the matter.
She said: “Sex-for-roles is real, and it happens not only in the Yoruba movie industry but in Nollywood as a whole. I have seen it happen before, where a director or producer insists that unless you date them or sleep with them, you can never progress or succeed in the movie industry. It happened to me. I remember when I was younger and still upcoming in Nollywood, a producer Alhaji Rasheed would often tell me to date Femi Adebayo. He said that if I refused, he wouldn’t give me any opportunities in the industry. I would plead with him, but he always insisted that I had to sleep with him because most of my peers were doing the same just to get roles. After several threats from him, Femi Adebayo eventually walked up to him one day and warned him to leave me alone and stop harassing me.”
Watch her interview below