Omotola: I get Hollywood royalties but nothing from 30 years in Nollywood

Veteran Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has renewed concerns about the payment structure in Nigeria’s film industry, revealing that she receives royalties and residual payments from Hollywood despite spending far less time working there, but has received no similar payments from her three-decade career in Nollywood.

Omotola said she has worked in Hollywood for about five years and continues to receive payments from her past projects, while her roughly 30 years in Nollywood have yielded no royalty payments.

“I’ve only worked in Hollywood for five years, yet I constantly receive envelopes containing my residuals and royalties. I’ve worked in Nollywood for 30 years and have never received a single envelope. Maybe they don’t know where I live,” the actress said.

Her remarks have reignited the debate over actors’ royalties, residual payments and contractual rights in Nollywood, particularly as Nigerian films increasingly generate revenue through cinemas, television, streaming platforms and international distribution.

Omotola had previously raised similar concerns in 2025, when she disclosed that she had featured in more than 310 Nollywood projects over three decades without receiving residuals.

At the time, she contrasted that experience with her Hollywood work, saying she had received monthly residual payments from two test projects completed during her relatively brief time in the American film industry.

She also shared images of payment envelopes from SAG-AFTRA, the American union representing film and television performers, to illustrate the system under which performers can receive continuing payments from qualifying uses of their work.

The actress used the comparison to call for greater structure within Nollywood’s compensation system, arguing that performers should be able to benefit financially when their work continues to generate value.

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Residual payments are generally payments made to performers when films or television productions are reused or distributed through qualifying channels, such as television broadcasts, reruns or streaming, depending on contractual and industry arrangements.

Royalties can also arise from agreements that give performers or other rights holders a continuing share of revenue generated from the use or exploitation of their work.

Omotola’s latest comments therefore highlight a distinction between a one-time acting fee and continuing financial participation in the commercial life of a production.

Her concerns have also brought renewed attention to the structures supporting Nollywood actors and filmmakers, including contracts, copyright, rights management, distribution and revenue tracking.

The issue comes at a time when Nollywood has expanded significantly beyond the traditional home-video and cinema markets.

Nigerian films are now distributed through international streaming services and other digital platforms, giving productions longer commercial lives and access to audiences around the world.

However, Omotola’s experience has also prompted questions about whether the industry’s financial and contractual systems have developed at the same pace as its global reach.

In 2025, the Chairman of the Audio Visual Rights Society of Nigeria (AVRS), Mahmood Balogun, acknowledged the challenges surrounding residual collection in Nigeria while noting that the country was still developing the infrastructure required for effective royalty administration.

Balogun said AVRS had distributed royalties to members but explained that actors and other rights holders who are not members of relevant collecting structures may not receive such payments.

He also pointed to challenges involving copyright awareness, compliance and the collection of royalties from broadcasters, hotels and other commercial users of audiovisual content.

The debate has consequently moved beyond whether actors are paid enough for individual film appearances to the broader question of whether they can benefit from the continuing commercial use of their performances.

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Omotola’s lengthy career makes her intervention particularly significant. She has been one of the most recognisable faces of Nollywood since emerging as a major actress in the 1990s and has featured in hundreds of productions.

She has also transitioned into filmmaking and production, giving her experience on both sides of the industry’s financial structure.

Her recent film, Mother’s Love, provided another insight into the economics of Nigerian filmmaking.

The movie reportedly grossed more than N103 million during its cinema run, but Omotola disclosed that only about N22.28 million accrued to the producers after deductions including exhibitor and distributor shares, advertising and production-related costs, as well as various taxes.

She subsequently disclosed that the amount accruing to her production company from the film was donated to Slum2School Africa, fulfilling a pledge made by her production outfit.

The disclosure offered a glimpse into the gap between a film’s headline box-office figure and the amount ultimately available to producers after industry deductions.

Omotola’s royalty concerns highlight another side of that financial equation: what happens to performers and other creatives after their initial fees have been paid and their films continue to circulate.

The actress has previously indicated that she wants royalty clauses included in her Nollywood contracts, arguing that her work should continue to provide value for her and her family.

Her position reflects a wider push among some Nigerian creatives for stronger contractual protections and clearer mechanisms for tracking revenue generated by films after their initial release.

For an industry that now has a substantial international audience, the issue of Nollywood royalties is increasingly tied to questions of professionalism, transparency and sustainability.

The growth of streaming platforms has made the subject even more important because films can remain available to viewers for years, potentially generating revenue long after their cinema or television premieres.

Whether actors receive additional compensation in such circumstances depends on the contracts governing individual productions, ownership arrangements and applicable rights-management systems.

Omotola’s comments do not necessarily represent the experience of every Nollywood performer, but they have once again placed the industry’s royalty structure at the centre of public discussion.

Her message is ultimately a call for a more organised system in which actors and other creatives can benefit from the long-term commercial value of their work.

As Nollywood continues to expand internationally, the debate over royalties, residuals, actors’ rights and film revenue is likely to remain an important part of conversations about the future of Nigeria’s entertainment industry.

For Omotola, however, the disparity remains personal: after about five years of work in Hollywood, she says she continues to receive royalty and residual payments, while three decades and hundreds of projects in Nollywood have produced none.

Omotola: I get Hollywood royalties but nothing from 30 years in Nollywood

Veteran Actor Jude Chukwuka Reveals Eight-Year Battle With Undiagnosed Depression After Wife Left

Veteran Nollywood actor, Jude Chukwuka, has opened up about a difficult chapter of his life, revealing that he unknowingly battled depression for about eight years following the collapse of his marriage.

Chukwuka made the disclosure during an interview with African A-List on Friday, September 5, 2026, while reflecting on the emotional impact of his failed marriage and how it affected his outlook on life.

The actor said he initially did not realise that the changes in his behaviour and emotions were symptoms of depression.

According to him, he simply continued with his life without understanding why he had lost interest in many things.

“My wife left me for eight years. I didn’t know I had depression,” he said. “I was just living my life like I’m not interested in all of these things for about eight years.”

Chukwuka explained that his emotional withdrawal and lack of interest persisted for years after the breakdown of his marriage, but he was unable to identify the underlying problem at the time.

The veteran actor’s revelation offers an insight into the emotional struggles that can follow the breakdown of a marriage, particularly when the affected person does not recognise the psychological effects of the experience.

Chukwuka had previously disclosed that his first marriage ended in 2011. He described his subsequent marriage as a “second chance” after experiencing heartbreak from the earlier failed relationship.

His latest revelation highlights the prolonged emotional consequences of the experience and the difficulty he faced in recognising what he was going through.

The actor’s account also underscores the importance of paying attention to prolonged emotional withdrawal, loss of interest and other significant changes in behaviour, which can sometimes be associated with depression.

Chukwuka has remained active in Nollywood over the years and is known for his appearances in numerous Nigerian films and television productions.

Veteran Actor Jude Chukwuka Reveals Eight-Year Battle With Undiagnosed Depression After Wife Left

Kneeling to Propose Is Why Western Marriages Fail — Pete Edochie Sparks Fresh Debate

Veteran Nollywood actor Pete Edochie has reignited a fierce debate on marriage traditions, insisting that men who kneel to propose are symbolically surrendering their family headship—a practice he claims has contributed to the high rate of marital breakdown in Western countries.

The 78-year-old actor, who has been married for 56 years and describes himself as an “uncompromising custodian of Igbo culture,” made the remarks during an exclusive interview on the Curiosity Made Me Ask programme with BaeU Barbie. The conversation has sparked widespread discussion on social media about the balance between tradition and modernity in courtship and marriage.

Edochie argued that kneeling to propose is not merely a romantic gesture but carries deep symbolic meaning that many men fail to recognise. Drawing from his Catholic faith, he explained that kneeling—or genuflection—is an expression of reverence before a higher spiritual authority. “In church, you kneel before a superior spiritual entity. So if you kneel to a woman, you’re acknowledging her superiority. It has destroyed the white people—they don’t know it,” he asserted. “If you step down on your knee and you offer a woman a ring, you are conceding headship of the family to that woman. And that is what a lot of you who advocate that don’t even understand,” Edochie stated.

He maintained that the practice is culturally alien to African tradition, particularly Igbo customs. “Kneeling down to propose to a woman is totally wrong, it is not our lifestyle. Kneeling before a girl in Igbo tradition means you are handing over the authority to her. She becomes the head of the family,” he said. According to Edochie, traditional Igbo marriage rites place the woman in the kneeling position—not the man. “Marriage in Igbo tradition is when a lady gives her husband-to-be wine while kneeling down. What does it signify? That the man has been accepted as the husband of the lady. It is the lady who kneels before the husband, not vice versa,” he explained.

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The veteran actor linked the practice of kneeling proposals directly to the instability of marriages in Western societies. “Have you ever asked yourself why marriages don’t last in Western countries? You haven’t. That’s the reason,” he said. Edochie pointed to what he sees as the consequences of this dynamic: “The white man kneels down to propose to a girl, you know what it means? The girl takes over the family. This is why whenever you disagree with your wife overseas, you are kicked out and the wife takes the house.” He further argued that Western societies show a general disregard for the sanctity of marriage, stating that Africans have more to teach the Western world about sustaining long-term unions. “I have been married for the past 56 years, there is no actor in Hollywood who has my record, nor in Nollywood. Something that we can teach the white man is how to get married and keep their marriages. They don’t appreciate the sanctity of marriage and it doesn’t mean anything to them, it’s nonsensical,” he declared. Edochie also addressed the financial implications of divorce in some Western jurisdictions, noting that women may be entitled to a substantial portion of their husbands’ assets following the dissolution of a marriage. “So, if your wife decides to divorce you, she’s entitled to maybe half or 75 per cent of what you have,” he noted.

While acknowledging that culture evolves, Edochie warned against adopting foreign practices that undermine African values. “Culture is eclectic. In its dynamism, it grows. You adapt and you adopt, there are aspects that you can clip off but adopting these things does not have to be at the expense of our culture,” he said. Edochie cited his own marriage as evidence that his approach works. “I didn’t kneel to propose to my wife and we’ve stayed 50 years in our marriage. I took my time to woo her, when it’s time to settle down, I asked if she’ll marry me and that was it,” he recalled.

When interviewer BaeU Barbie—who noted that he personally knelt when proposing—challenged Edochie, asking, “Do I look like a fool?” the veteran actor stood his ground, replying, “I will not take it back.” Edochie has previously used even stronger language, describing men who kneel to propose as “idiots,” “bloody fools,” and “compound buffoons.”

Edochie’s comments have drawn both praise and criticism. Supporters applaud his defence of cultural identity and male headship of the household, while critics view his stance as outdated in an era where kneeling proposals have become a widely accepted romantic gesture, including in Nigeria. His son, actor Yul Edochie, has offered a more nuanced take, agreeing that kneeling is not traditional African culture and that he himself did not kneel, while stressing that the posture of a proposal does not determine the success or respect within a marriage. The debate continues as Nigerians weigh the balance between cultural preservation and modern expressions of love and commitment.

Kneeling to Propose Is Why Western Marriages Fail — Pete Edochie Sparks Fresh Debate