Veteran Nollywood actor Yemi Solade has opened up on why he once cursed pastors who advised him to avoid working on Sundays.
Speaking on The Honest Bunch podcast, the 64-year-old recounted how church leaders told him to decline movie roles that required filming on Sundays.
“I’ve been told in the church that I should tell producers not to call me for work on Sundays. And I cursed those pastors,” he said.
The Voiceless Scream star argued that such advice was unrealistic, stressing that film productions are often scheduled on weekends.
“It is from that thing that you said I shouldn’t do on Sunday that I put my hand in my pocket and I dropped here,” he added, explaining that his income comes directly from his craft.
Solade also dismissed the belief that attending church services directly determines success in life.
“The notion that if you don’t attend church once life must die, probably I’ve not seen anything change. Rather, I have peace, I do well,” he said.
The actor further lamented the constant demands of church membership, describing them as distractions from his career.
“Because every day of my life, when I was going to church, I got messages or sort of disturbances. If you are not invited to one committee, then when will I have time to work?”
On why he prioritises work over Sunday worship, Solade argued that the Bible does not forbid labour on Sundays.
“There’s no way in the Bible that Sunday in the Greco-Roman calendar… you’re telling me not to leave my house and go to where my chop is. You are here to chop on Sunday. Who are you telling me that I should tell? You want to ruin my career?”
He also recalled giving money to a technician who later told him he couldn’t show up for work because he was in church.
“I gave him money… Later, he told me he was in church. Do you know that you took my money to that church? You gave part of it; that blessing is mine now. It’s my money you went to drop there. … You went to attend another man’s business.”
Yemi Solade, who hails from Ogun State, has featured in several Nollywood films including Voiceless Scream, Widow, The Other Woman and Elevator Baby. He is married to actress Hannah Marsh, with whom he has children following his first marriage.
