Lilian Afegbai criticizes Nollywood’s alleged labeling culture

• Afegbai addressed the issue on Instagram, claiming that labeling culture creates a hierarchy that diminishes the talents of those primarily working on platforms like YouTube.

• The actor shared personal anecdotes of being dismissed as “not a YouTube face” and receiving low-ball offers from producers, arguing that this mentality hinders the growth of emerging actors and filmmakers.

Actress and filmmaker Lilian Afegbai has voiced her concerns regarding the increasing division within the industry, where creatives are categorized according to the platforms they utilize.

In a recent Instagram post, Afegbai highlighted that this culture of labeling fosters a hierarchy that undermines the abilities of those primarily associated with platforms such as YouTube.

She contended that such a mindset hinders the development of up-and-coming actors and filmmakers. The actress recounted personal experiences, including being overlooked as “not a YouTube face” and receiving undervalued offers from producers.

She stressed the importance of audiences providing opportunities to lesser-known actors, rather than forming judgments about films based solely on the presence of specific individuals featured on promotional materials.

“Normally, an actor is an actor. It’s about, are you a good actor? Can you act? But it’s you viewers that have turned the whole thing upside down.

“Other people have to have room to grow. More actors have to come. How many films is your fave going to be in at the same time? It’s not possible”, she said in part.

Captioning the video, she wrote: “YouTube Actors Lol. Sometimes people fail to see your worth or acknowledge your growth, but that says more about them than it does about you. Your value isn’t diminished by their inability to recognize it. Keep growing, shining, and staying true to yourself—it’s not your fault they choose not to see it”.