Gen Z actors are oversabi – Chinedu Ikedieze says, Bovi disagrees
“Old Nollywood vs new Nollywood” In the most recent episode of the TeaTalk podcast, hosted by actress Toke Makinwa, Bovi and Ikedieze gets into it
Chinedu Ikedieze, widely known as Aki, a veteran Nigerian actor, has said that the social media phrase “Old Nollywood vs New Nollywood” was coined by overzealous Gen Z artists in an attempt to assert dominance.
He claims that Gen Z actors are continuously attempting to portray themselves as “the best” and “Hollywood standard.”
In the most recent episode of the TeaTalk podcast, hosted by actress Toke Makinwa, Ikedieze stated:
“There’s this thing now, Old Nollywood and New Nollywood. It’s absurd.
“I think the Gen Zs in Nollywood are trying to make it look like, ‘Oh! We’re the latest. We’re the Hollywood standards. We’re the best. We know it all.”
His fellow guest on the podcast, comedian Bovi, however, disagreed with him. In Bovi’s words:
“It’s not even just them [Gen Z]. Let me tell you one thing that is common. I think it’s general in Nigeria but let me speak on the entertainment industry. Those before tend to look down on newcomers. They would be like, ‘Who’s this? Me, I’ve been in this business. I’m an aunty. She just came and said hi. Who’s this guy? He can’t behave himself. Does he know how long you’ve been doing it?’
“They [older actors] have been doing that. The reason many of us are relating with people like you [Ikedieze] is because when we came into the industry, you didn’t snub us. But the assholes that are out there… We know them. And now they act all cool.
“So, it’s not just a Gen Z thing, the Old Nollywood, there are many of them who have seniority complexes.”