Nollywood actress and producer, Toyin Abraham, has cautioned against snide remarks about successful women in Nollywood as some men are attributing their wealth to their sexuality.

The actress who doubles as a filmmaker, took to her Instagram page to register her displeasure, following a statement from Nigerian rapper, Ruggedman. The Nigerian rapper in a tweet had claimed that women in Nollywood, seem more successful than their male counterparts and due to this, he has ditched his plans to join Nollywood, since male actors in the industry are not living luxurious lives like their female counterparts.

However, Toyin Abraham, who read deeper meanings to what he wrote, expressed her discontentment at the implication of the rapper’s post. She emphasized that there are women out there who work tirelessly to make their money, just like other men do, therefore, their wealth as a woman shouldn’t be linked with their sexuality.

“We need to stop attributing every woman’s success to her sexual prowess with men, women deserve the success they have as much as men without attributing it to their sexuality. Even scriptwriters that are not in the limelight are getting paid millions. It is disparaging to put the successes of these women within the box of their sexuality. A lot of women are doing great things legitimately. I am one of them and so also are many other women in other industries, not just the entertainment industry”.
Toyin Abraham

She also lamented that his comment had given way to people on social media to put up derogatory remarks about women, especially actresses. She further mentioned that a lot of men in the industry get paid just as much as women but most of them have chosen to keep their successes private and not make noise on social media.

“I saw a social media post made by respected rapper, Rudgeman about women making more money and doing well better than men. I read between the lines and saw what Ruggedman implied. It is a little bit sad that many people on social media leached on it with many derogatory comments about women especially those of us in Nollywood.

“It is important that I put this out there that many women make money and make good money legitimately. I know actresses who charge N2m, N3m, and N5m in this Nollywood. I get paid in millions of Naira for gigs. As a matter of fact, I just paid for a very good car worth millions of Naira, and at the same time, I know a lot of men in Nollywood who are doing extraordinarily well and paid in millions. The fact that most of these men choose not to make noise on social media does not in any way mean that they are second class citizens in this industry”.
Toyin Abraham

Several netizens who were in total agreement with her reacted to her post. They lauded and thanked her for speaking up for the women. Meanwhile, some have argued that Ruggedman’s statement was nowhere offensive and therefore should be cut some slack. Some reactions from her post read: