Linda Osifo was bullied over her skin colour so much she thought about bleaching
The actress moved back to Nigeria, after growing up in Canada, to start a career in Nollywood.
Nollywood actress Linda Osifo has narrated what it was like for her to take the chance and move to Nigeria from Canada to pursue her acting career.
During a guest appearance on the With Chude podcast, the veteran actress spoke about her leap of faith, as well as the challenges she faced after moving to Nigeria.
Starting from the beginning she spoke about her first time in Lagos State when she flew over to host a show which never took place. According to her, that was when she got her first “Lagos experience.” After spending money on her ticket she was left with a choice, go back to Canada and resume her nine-to-five job as a psychologist, or remain in Lagos and explore her choices.
“We waited and waited till it got to a stage where I had to choose what next because my ticket had expired. So it’s like if I go back, I’m just going back to my psychology working my 9 to 5 or I stay here and don’t make my ticket money waste, since I’m already here, I can explore.”
With nothing to lose, she decided to go with the latter and stayed in Nigeria knowing full well that if things did not go according to plan for her, she could always return to Canada where she was a citizen.
Osifo further noted that moving to Lagos was not easy. She was afraid of the unknown because she had never stayed in Lagos. She had a background in Nigeria, being born in Benin City and living there for eight years, but she had never been to Lagos.
It was at this point the actress disclosed she considered bleaching her skin because of the bullying she faced as a teenager. According to her narration, she was bullied by people who had the same skin tone as herself which was more hurtful for her.
Osifo said, “Yeah. It happens absolutely. And it happens from your shade too, you know. So, that’s why it’s even more of a weird thing. I always feel that those who get bullied, don’t get bullied by outsiders. It’s from within. Because if somebody else says it, you may not care but if somebody who is around you, who you are always kinda seeing every other day says it, it hurts more. I was a teenager so I tried to.”
Osifo is known for her roles in popular Nollywood movies like Tanwa Savage, Merry Men: The Real Yoruba Demons, among others.
Pulse.ng
