By Oluwapelumi Oluwayemi
Veteran Nollywood actor Yemi Ayebo, famously known as Yemi My Lover, has revealed that he is currently facing financial difficulties despite the widespread popularity of his 1990s movie, Yemi My Lover.
In an exclusive interview with LilGaga, Yemi Ayebo attributed his financial woes to rampant piracy and unfair industry practices that deprived him of profits from his own film.
He explained, “I wrote and produced the movie in the 1990s. The movie cut across Nigeria, especially in the Yoruba-speaking part of the country. But I didn’t make money from it because 90% of the money was made by piracy.”
Yemi further detailed how the absence of social media at the time limited his ability to promote the movie widely. This lack of promotion, combined with illegal distribution, resulted in significant losses.
He said, “The marketers waged war against me for handling the marketing myself. It was distributed illegally, and people made a profit from it. That marked the beginning of my problems.”
Despite the film’s success and lasting legacy, Yemi Ayebo lamented his current situation, stating, “I’m broke right now. I still have friends in the industry.”
