On The Honest Bunch Podcast, Nollywood veteran Jide Kosoko stirred the pot, saying, “If I say I need you to come warm my bed before I can give you a particular movie role and you say you don’t want, just go, they cannot force you to do that. But if you want that role by all means…” His words, aimed at tackling the “sex for roles” issue, have split opinions, some see a confession, others a blunt hypothetical.
Jide Kosoko, a Nollywood titan with over five decades of storytelling is trending across Nigeria, and it’s not for a new blockbuster. The 71-year-old prince of the Kosoko royal family stepped into the spotlight during a candid sit-down on The Honest Bunch Podcast, where he tackled one of the industry’s ugliest open secrets: the “sex for roles” hustle. His words, now a viral soundbite, have unleashed a torrent of reactions, from fury to defense, and everything in between.
Kosoko didn’t mince words. He laid out a scenario where a director might demand intimacy for a role, framing it as a choice: walk away if it’s not your thing, or stay if you’re desperate enough. It was a raw take, meant to peel back the curtain on Nollywood’s power games. But the delivery or maybe the editing hit a nerve. By midday, X was ablaze. Some saw it as him admitting to the practice, with posts like “Jide Kosoko spills” fanning the flames. Others leapt to his side, arguing it was a hypothetical twisted for drama. “He’s not saying he does it, he’s showing how it works,” one user fired back around 11:58 WAT, urging folks to watch the full clip.
The split’s telling. For every voice calling him out, there’s another like one at 18:36 WAT blaming the podcast crew: “They cut it to make him look bad. Nigerians won’t even check the context.” Without the unedited episode or a statement from Kosoko, it’s a guessing game. Was he exposing a truth he’s seen in his 50-plus years on set? Or just playing devil’s advocate to spark a reckoning? Either way, it’s got people talking and not quietly.
Kosoko’s legacy adds weight to the uproar. This is the man who gave us Asiri Nla, who’s shaped Nollywood from its rough-and-tumble early days into a global force. When he speaks, it’s not just noise it’s history talking. And with the industry already wrestling with whispers of exploitation, his podcast moment feels like a matchstick in a dry field. Fans are torn: some feel betrayed by a hero, others see a sage calling it like it is.
Tonight, the trend’s still rolling no clarification from Kosoko’s camp yet, just the echo of his voice and a nation picking it apart. It’s a messy, human mess, the kind Nollywood knows too well. Whether he meant to confess, critique, or just muse, one thing’s for sure: Jide Kosoko’s got Nigeria’s attention, and this conversation’s not fading anytime soon.
Watch video: