Interviews | 4 December 2009 06:46 CET

Actress OMOTOLA JALADE-EKEINDE interview:''i am a fulfilled woman''

Source: http://nollywoodgists.com

Omotola a.k.a Omosexy is one person who is a go-getter.shes a fulfilled actress,musician, mother of four lovely children and wife to a man she fondly calls'honeyboy'.

you can also add comedian to her titles as all she does is laugh and laugh and make some expensive jokes when one talking to her.

some questions were posed to her and despite her hectic schedule,the diva took out time and told STELLA DIMOKO-KORKUS how she feels about negative publicity..heck,she even added a few thank yous to her fans.

She also recently started 'omotola jalade-ekeinde fan club' worldwide and wants al lher fans to know she loves them all.

1-Omotola how have you been

....Great! my career has been interesting this year.

2-Whats have you been up to lately?

...I am in new york right now on my way to dallas,preparing for my musical tour with timaya for sacaids and tuffgig.i was in miami last week for the premiere of my movie'mind games'.before then i was in L.A for the premiere of movie 'ije' .it was an exclusive private screening by warner brothers.i have been very busy but i will defnintely make it home in time for christmas.

3-You were recently in free town to create awareness on mortal maternity can you explain and tell us how your campaign went?

.....It was brilliant,it came at a time when the people were truly tired of their situation.Amnesty International contacted me from London to headline the campaign on Maternal mortality which is a first for them as they usually deal with more political issues and i am the first African Artiste Amnesty is working with in a campaign of this magnitude.

I feel honoured and priviledged to work for and with people.I will be in London in 2wks for a crucial meeting with Amnesty on the next phase of the campaign.

4-There is something quietly different about you,did you rebrand?or is it that you are more mature now?

....A little of both i guess.i will say that along the line one picks up better habits and drops some of the not so good ones.

So if you see me as rebranded you could be right,if you see me as more mature you could be also right.one cannot remain the same forever.

5-You are such a busy mum,how do you find time to spend time with your children?

....We keep sundays as family day and we have mandatory holidays during their long vacation every year, we put off our phones and spend all that 2-3 wks with them ,by the time they get back,trust me they are so choked up with us they dont mind us steping away for a minute.

6-Do your children watch your movies and give you feedback later?

.....They don't watch most of them since i do alot of romantic movies,they get to see the G rated ones and they treat me like any other actor ,and depending on how they feel at the end of the movie i get the first hit or kiss.

7-Omotola some people do not think that you dress up the way a married woman should especiallywhen you wear those mini skirts and really tight sexy tops,whats your opinion about this?

...(Laughing)hmm,na wah oh!what do they want me to wear?to dress up as a nun?come on,i dress up how i like to look,i wear what i feel comfortable in and my hubby likes the way i dress,so hes the important one,if he doesnt have a problem with that then i am okay with that.i dont dress up to provoke anyone.

I wear what i feel comfortable in.

8-Does this have anytihng to do with the fact that you married quite early and started making babies quite early and did not have the opportunity to dress up the way you should when you were younger?are you trying to relive your youth by dressing younger?

......no,its not neccesarily that,i got married quite young and right from secondary school,i had always dressed the way a girl my age should dress up.i dont think i should be dressing any older just because i am a wife and mother,i am still a young person and as long as my dressing is not disrespectful and i am well covered then i dont think i have committed any crime here.

9-Omotola when you say you are still a young person,what age are we looking at here?

....I am 31years old and i dont hide that,i am a fulfilled woman so i dont need to hide my age.

10-Do you think you have paid your dues as an actress?

....(Laughing)stella,i think i have more than paid my dues.i got into the industry that was full of flaws,there were no rules to work by,nollywood practically had nothing when i began my career,i think i am one of those few people who struggled and toiled hard in my capacity as an actress to put nollywood where it is today.i have paid my dues,i have worked through my own in the industry.

11-You are one of the Alist actress,are you at a point in your career where you think you have reached the top of your profession or do you see yourself going further?what are your plans?

.....I dont think i have reached anywhere at all,for me i am still at the starting point and things can only get better.i am trying to get to a point where generations after generations will have something to learn from me. as for my plans i think it would be better to take one day at a time and let things unfold for themselves.

12-What do you think about the influx of actors/actresses into nollywood?

....We have done a good job of attracting them.they are Welcome ,they will make it as well indeed but they should never think of disrespecting anyone in the line of duty and they should concentrate on interpreting their roles well.success doesnt always take place overnight but with hardowork it does happen.

13-Since you became an actress until date,what has been the biggest lie the press ever wrote about you that you have not had an opportunity to correct?

...Well...i have been lucky with the press and so far nothing excrutiating, however there was one reporter from p.m news who wrote that i asked for money from organisers to meet and sit with the producers of the last king of scotland.

14-The movie you featured in 'ije' was recently screened by warner brothers and there are whispers that you are on the brink of a mouth watering movie deal with some hollywood A-list producers.do you want to tell us about this?

....Yes,i am talking to some big names right now and we have something on the line,i dont just want to go into the details right now but it will unfold as time goes on.

15-Whats your make up routine?is there some peice of cosmetic and jewelry you cant do without?

....I can live absolutely without makeup.When i am not shooting,i dont wear makeup to the office, however, i like l'oreal volume shocking mascara and my bobbi brown lipgloss in petal. as for jewelry,i am not a gold person,i just love very loud earrings.

16-Omotola the print media and internet reports have always fingered you as being a snob,but recently i noticed you have warmed up to your fans,espeically on facebook,i see you responding to every comment made by your fans and taking the extra time to let them know you love and appreciate their support.was this a misconception about you or did the reports make you change for the better?

.....Thank you very much for this question,this is the best question you have asked me so far.yes its been very hard for me,i beleive the people who made up this story do not really know me for who i am.i have been tagged very cold,unfriendly and all what not but its not true.when the opportunity presents itself some people walk up to me and say ''oh my God i didnt know you are this friendly''and i say to them that i have always been like this.i really look forward to the day when this wrong conception will be totally corrected and people who matter will see me for the person i truly am.

I thank all the fans who come to my facebook wall to write,i thank them for all their comments,i really appreciate it.someone told me that on a site called naijarules my album was voted best album out of nollywood and i just want to use this medium to say thank you to them.any little acknowledgement i get from people who think i am doing something good,i like to say my thank yous.

17-Sometimes there are negative writeups about your husband mathew,how does it make you feel when they put him out there?

....I feel that is not cool,i feel bad.i feel people should try to respect other peoples privacy.my husband is not a celebrity so i wonder why he is news.there have been insinuations that we have broken up because he doesnt come with me to parties.that shows that he really doesnt want to be out there.the truth of the matter is that sometimes he does come out with me but he doesnt walk in with me,hes a very private person and wants it to stay that way.

18-People are whispering that your marriage is shaky,is this true?

....Let them whisper all they want,i dont need to keep explaining that its not true.every relationship experiences its ups and downs and thats what makes it unique and blossom.if anyone is wishing for that to happen by whispering it they will have a long time waiting so they better take a seat and sit down.people who spread this kind of lies,i wonder what they stand to gain really.

19-When they write negative things about you,does it affect your marriage?does your hubby react negatively or are you both at a stage where you just laugh about any thing negative written about you?

...No we do not laugh about it,its not funny at all,oh it doesnt affect my marriage at all,we have been married for 14yrs known each other for 15years,we know each other very well,if you are an outsider and you are writing something,you should know that you are writing about people who already know themselves.it is just very uncomfortable reading such reports when you know that you are a role model to a lot of people.

Also when these writeups are done,we get responses from a lot of people so its not funny at all.i really worry about these reports,its very painful when you work very hard to comport yourself in a good manner and someone just comes from nowhere and uses hearsay to tear this down.

We talk a lot about everything so i guess communication helps us survive the negativity of any writeup.

20-Do you have any message for you fans?

...Thank you to everyone who has beleived in me over the years,its been hardwork but when someone beleives in your dreams it gives you wings to fly.thank you,i will never let you down.

21-Words on marbel?

....Live and let live.

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