Actress Linda Osifo from Nollywood has admitted that she thought about whitening her complexion while visiting Canada due to racist epithets.
The ebony actress, who was born in Nigeria’s Benin City before emigrating to Canada at age 16, said the prejudice she experienced traumatised her because it came from “within.”
In a recent interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, she made this disclosure.
Chude, the host, questioned: “You mentioned wanting to bleach your skin because people would call you a monkey (sic) when you grow up. Was this really what transpired?
“Yeah,” Osifo answered. Without a doubt, it occurs. You understand that it also occurs from your shade. This makes it even stranger, therefore.
“I’ve always believed that individuals who are bullied are not bullied by strangers. From within, that is. Because even though you might not care if someone else says it, if someone close to you—someone you kind of see every other day—says it, it hurts more.
“I was a Canadian adolescent at the time. The fact that I was able to see more people who resembled me after returning to Nigeria was a plus.
She continued by saying that moving to Nigeria has increased her sense of self-worth.
