Racism: British-Nigerian Actress Quits Show
BRITISH-Nigerian actress, Rachael Adedeji has called it a quit with Hollyoaks, a British soap opera, as racism row rages.
The 28-year-old, who alleged that she was subject to racist comments while working on the long-running Channel 4 drama, resigned last year (2019), but her resignation came to fore after she hit out at Hollyoaks over the way it handled the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd‘s death.
“I am disappointed with Hollyoaks’ approach with showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement yesterday,” she began in her Twitter statement on June 5. “Did black lives matter when I was told ‘you’re all the same’ via a makeup artist you employed and remains in employment to this day?”
She continued; “Did Black Lives Matter when a number of female black actors were forced to drastically change their hair because if not, the viewers ‘would not be able to tell them apart?’
“Do Black Lives Matter when my fellow black castmates are deemed ‘angry, aggressive, and too vocal?’
“Did Black Lives Matter when referred to as ‘bl*s’ by a senior member of the production team?”
Representatives for both the actor, who played Lisa Loveday on the show, and the show’s producer, Lime Pictures, however, deny a linkage between her departure and her complaints about racism.
“Rachel made the decision to leave ‘Hollyoaks’ to pursue other opportunities earlier last year, which saddened us at ‘Hollyoaks’ as she is one of the leading cast members in the show. However, the notice period did allow the writers time to give Lisa Loveday an extremely gripping exit storyline. Viewers will see this story play out later this year as her final scenes were filmed shortly before lockdown,” a Spokesperson for Hollyoaks was quoted as saying.
Adedeji’s spokesperson added; “It had always been our intention for Rachel to leave the show after a period of time. She loved her time on ‘Hollyoaks’ and the exit storyline was openly discussed with the producers and her together, in a collaborative format.”
The actress has appeared in more than 200 episodes of the show, since her debut in 2016.
