Reason I Have Not Been Acting Lately – Omotola Jalade

Veteran Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has disclosed the reason she has not been acting lately.

Omotola explained that she decided to take a break from acting to reorganize herself.

The thespian who recently sparked various reactions after sharing a bedroom picture of herself and hubby noted that people often forget that she has been in the industry for 28 years.

Speaking during an interview, Omotola stated that she also needs time to focus on other parts of her life like her family and businesses.

She went on to state that her hiatus does not mean that she is no longer her actress as she has done her bit in the industry over time.

She said, “I slowed down for many reasons. You know we started a long time ago, I think people forget that I have been in the industry for 28 years. So sometimes, you have to re-organize yourself. I can’t continue to pump out movies the way I have and not grow. So I’m growing. And what that means is that I need time to do other things. I have adult children, and I’ve had to take care of that. I’ve had to also move back a little bit and also grow my businesses. I have a studio in Lagos, Nigeria. I’m also into real estate. And I’ve recently relocated to the United States. I have businesses there also that I have to grow.

“So once an actor, always an actor. I will be coming back to the screens when I think it’s time and I prefer to do projects that are actually meaningful, other than just doing projects just because we want to be working you know. I’ve done that when I was younger. So you’ll see me back on the screens very soon, by God’s grace with projects that I know are worth my time.”

Speaking on some of the challenges faced in the entertainment industry when she was young, the actress explained that she suffered a lot of backlash from her family members.

“Some of the hurdles for me were when I was younger. The fact that I got into entertainment very early in life and the image of people going into entertainment at the time was really bad. It was even unheard of. I went through a lot of beatings from my mom. She didn’t want me to go into entertainment, certainly not acting. So I had to struggle. It was a lot of struggle. Times when I wasn’t supported. I wasn’t given any sort of transport fare maybe to go to auditions or anything.

“So I guess the beginning, just getting into something you believe will pay off eventually. Sometimes, it’s very hard. But if you believe in what you’re doing, keep at it. If you’re serious and focused, in time everybody will come around,” she added.