'77% of Nigerian women bleach their skin' — Nollywood actress explains what pushed her to speak up

• Beverly Naya says the bullying she experienced as a teenager eventually inspired her Netflix documentary Skin.

• The actress said a WHO statistic claiming 77% of Nigerian women use skin-bleaching products changed the direction of her campaign.

• She hopes the documentary will challenge colourism, expose the health risks and encourage self-acceptance.

Nollywood actress Beverly Naya has opened up about the personal experience that inspired her Netflix documentary Skin, tracing it back to bullying she faced as a teenager in London.

Speaking on the One54 Podcast, Naya explained that although the bullying she experienced growing up wasn't rooted in colourism specifically, it deeply affected her self-esteem during her formative years. 

After relocating to Nigeria, she said she initially wanted to start an anti-bullying campaign, but felt the idea needed sharper focus to genuinely resonate with audiences.

During her research, she came across a quote attributed to Willie Lynch, a figure some historians dispute ever existed, allegedly describing a strategy to divide Black people by skin complexion. Whatever its origins, Naya said the idea stuck with her once she connected it to modern data on skin bleaching in Nigeria.

According to the World Health Organisation, 77% of Nigerian women use skin bleaching products, the highest rate recorded on the continent, compared to 59% in Togo, 35% in South Africa and 27% in Senegal.

Naya said that statistic, paired with the historical quote, is what ultimately shaped the direction of Skin. She pointed to a cultural hierarchy around complexion in Nigeria, where lighter skin is often treated as more desirable, and said she saw the culture around bleaching as its own form of bullying that had never been properly named or discussed.

She recalled how dark-skinned people were often casually insulted using derogatory terms, without the behaviour ever being classified as discriminatory. Naya said the documentary was her way of giving that pattern a name, colourism, while highlighting the health effects of bleaching and encouraging people to embrace their natural skin tone.

"That's basically what inspired that movement," she said of the project, noting that Skin premiered on Netflix roughly two weeks after George Floyd died in 2020, a period marked by heightened global conversations around race.

Beyond the documentary's origin story, Naya used the conversation to reflect on her broader journey between London, Lagos and New York, discussing how moving across three continents shaped her identity, accent and worldview. 

She also spoke about her decision to build her career in New York rather than Los Angeles, and shared thoughts on protecting her mental health while navigating fame, comparison culture and public scrutiny.

Naya, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Africa honoree, has continued to expand her work as an actress, filmmaker and producer since Skin's release, with the documentary remaining one of the more widely discussed projects to tackle colourism within Nollywood and the broader Nigerian entertainment industry.

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