Mo Abudu replies critics on making a Hushpuppi film

Ebonylife Studios boss Mo Abudu has revealed the inspiration behind co-producing the newly announced crime thriller based on Bloomberg's article detailing the arrest of Nigerian social media influencer Ramon Abbass aka Hushpuppi.

Reacting to initial criticism that trailed the Ebonylife and Will Packer partnership announcement, Abudu took to Instagram to explain why it was imperative to have a Nigerian studio backing up the story.

"Firstly, there are many lessons to be learnt from good and bad stories," Abudu wrote. "Secondly if we do not tell this story, someone else will and to ensure that this story is told with authenticity, a Nigerian storyteller with our pedigree needs to be involved.

"Too often, these types of characters are one-dimensional and feed into the worst stereotypes. Hushpuppi’s story is based on a real person whose story is already partly known to the world but the film gives us a real chance to tell a cautionary tale about a character formed by his environment and life choices.

"The films of Martin Scorsese are a great example of a filmmaker telling richly layered stories of criminal characters from his heritage that we’ve all grown to love, without ever creating the impression that all Italian-Americans are members of the mafia. Needless to say, all Nigerians are not 419 scam artists."

Abudu on Thursday confirmed that her Ebonylife Studios had partnered with US' Will Packer production to secure the rights to Bloomberg's 'The Fall of the Billionaire Gucci Master' written by Evan Ratliff. However, the announcement met mixed reactions among Nigerians.