"You have no right to insult Nollywood", actress responds to Leila Djansi's "Hitler" comments

princess abumere

February 1, 2016 12:36 PM

Damasus said Leila had insulted Nollywood pioneers.

Stella Damasus

Nigerian actress Stella Damasus has responded to statement made by Ghanaian film producer Leila Djansiin which she compares Nollywood to Hitler.

“That is the most derogatory thing anyone can ever say about the Nigerian movie industry”, Damasus said in a video post.

Djansi aired her thoughts about the new generation of Nigerian filmmakers in a documentary titled "Jimmy Goes To Nollywood".

“I don’t think those people, this new crop of filmmakers should be put under the umbrella of Nollywood, they should be called independent film because a name carries a lot, if you start tagging it Nollywood, every negative connotation that comes with Nollywood, it’s like calling your son Hitler”, the Ghanaian filmmaker said.

Damasus said she wasn’t after Djansi but she needed to address her comments.

Djansi has previously worked with Nigerians her films; “Ties That Bind” (released in 2011) stars Nollywood veteran Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and“Sinking Sands” (released in 2010) stars Yemi Blaq. Damasus pointed that both Nigerian stars in her film were from products of Nollywood.

“You have not only insulted people that have laboured for years to create something out of nothing. To create an industry without help from anywhere”.

She also spoke of the personal sacrifices of filmmakers said the producer had insulted the works of Nollywood pioneers.

Watch the Stella Damasus’ response in the video above.

princess abumere