Bolaji Ogunmola under fire for defending IK Ogbonna’s ‘Yoruba girls are dirty’ slur

Nigerian actress and producer Bolaji Ogunmola is at the centre of a social media storm after defending actor IK Ogbonna for delivering tribal slurs in a recent movie.

In a scene that quickly went viral, Ogbonna said to Ogunmola:

“Yoruba girl, Yoruba girl, you people are very dirty… That’s how I will be seeing tissue up and down, your pant will be hanging in the staircase, that your bra that is like cotton, I will come and be seeing it in my parlour.”

The remarks immediately drew condemnation on social media, with many accusing Ogunmola, who also produced the film, of scripting or condoning the offensive lines. One user wrote:

“See her reply even in the movie, obvious she wrote the scripts for him. What a shame 🤦🏾‍♂️ Shame on you @OgunmolaBolaji.”

Ogunmola responded, clarifying that the lines were not in the original script and were entirely improvised by Ogbonna. She added that, as the producer, she had no authority to cut the scene without the director’s consent:

“I didn’t write the script/wasn’t even in the script. He improvised those lines and I can’t cut him. There are ways things are done in my industry. It’s a director’s film and vision. Not the producer.”

When further challenged, she doubled down, stating:

“I should cut the scene without the director’s say… This is a professional setting, it doesn’t work like that.”

Despite her defense, backlash continued to mount, prompting Ogunmola to deactivate her social media account.