Popular Nollywood actress and filmmaker Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has said she is not opposed to dancing while promoting a movie, but will not do so if it feels forced or obligatory.
The veteran actress made this known during a recent appearance on TVC Entertainment, a clip of which was shared on Instagram on Tuesday.
I’m sorry, I would not be doing the dancing. It’s just not me. I dance. I love to dance, I’m sure a lot of us love to dance, she said.
Explaining the backlash against dance-driven movie promotions, Omotola noted that the issue lies in the pressure placed on actors to participate, rather than allowing such moments to occur naturally.
I think the problem and the reason why a lot of people are kicking back at it is because you want to dance because you feel like it, not because you have to,” she said.
According to her, there is nothing wrong with cast members dancing during promotional activities when it happens organically.
There’s a difference. There’s nothing wrong with you’re promoting a movie and you guys are just having fun. That’s different, she added.
The actress stressed that her responsibility as an actor ends with delivering a quality performance, while marketing and distribution should be handled by professionals.
But when it becomes a chore, when it becomes, this is what you have to do to even sell a movie’, it’s not professional. I already did the project. I should go around, talk about the project, promote the project, and then let the people whose job it is to distribute and advertise the project do that, she said.
Her comments come days after renowned filmmaker Kunle Afolayan also stated that he would not dance to promote a movie.
Afolayan further revealed that he has no interest in producing a film that makes ₦1 billion at the box office if he ends up earning only ₦10 million as the producer.
