Erica Gets Honest About Being a Woman in the Industry

There are not a lot of people from the Big Brother house that are as recognizable and famous as ex-Big Brother Naija housemate Erica Nlewedim.

Since being on the show, and being out of it, Erica has been the topic of a lot of conversation. The people that don't like her don't like her, but the people that love her ADORE her. As far as fanbases go, she is the housemate with by far one of the most dedicated fans.

But as much as life is great with Erica, she still started off and works in a system that can be at a lot of times quite misogynistic and impossibly critical towards women. In an interview with the good people over at Zikoko, Erica got honest about how she's dealt with being a woman in this industry.

Here is what she said.

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In some highlight parts of the interview, Erica was asked about the moment she knew she was famous. She was asked:

What was the moment you realized you were famous? to which she responded:

I think it was when I went to Sierra Leone. I had never seen that kind of crowd before, cheering for me, and in another country. Before I went to Sierra Leone, the biggest crowd I had seen cheering from me was at my Meet and Greet, and I was like, “I truly have people that love me”. But in Sierra Leone, It was the whole city. I was happy and I just kept thanking God.

Then she was asked about how she handles negative comments, to which she responded:

I’ve gone through different stages. At first, it didn’t seem real because I never connected to the insults. I felt detached. After a while, the insults started getting to me, and I reacted because I wasn’t happy.

But now? I don’t even look at it. If you insult me, and I don’t see it, how will I know you insulted me?

Then she was asked: how has it been navigating the industry as a woman? Erica replied:

Simply put, before Big Brother, it was tough. After Big Brother, it’s been good. Right now, most of the people doing the biggest things are women. People like Mo Abudu and Funke Akindele. It’s women doing great things. So that helps.

Then she was asked: You said it was tough before Big Brother, how so? to which Erica responded:

Most Nigerians won’t watch a movie in the cinema if they don’t see a popular and familiar face. So for me now, before Big Brother, I wouldn’t get my face on a poster, especially only me, because I didn‘t have a fanbase.

Now, I’m popular, in addition to my talent, hard work, time in film school and all. The popularity crowns it all and now, I am getting the kind of roles and productions I’ve always wanted to get.

Wow! Talk about a person that entered into the Big Brother house and got exactly what she was going for (i.e. the popularity) and is now putting it to full use. Keep on killing it Erica, you're doing amazing things and I can't wait to see what you do next.

That's All.

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Until next time, have a wonderful rest of your day.