Chinedu Ikedieze, also known as Aki, a respected Nigerian actor, has commented on the social media trend of “Old Nollywood vs New Nollywood”, which he believes was created by overly enthusiastic Gen Z performers in an effort to assert their superiority.

According to Ikedieze, these young actors are constantly striving to present themselves as “the best” and on par with Hollywood standards.

During a recent episode of the TeaTalk podcast, hosted by actress Toke Makinwa, Ikedieze expressed his disbelief at the concept of segregating Nollywood into “Old” and “New”, finding it to be utterly ridiculous.

“I think the Gen Zs in Nollywood are trying to make it look like, ‘Oh! We’re the latest. We’re the Hollywood standards. We’re the best. We know it all.

His fellow guest on the podcast, comedian Bovi, however, disagreed with him.

“It’s not even just them [Gen Z]. Let me tell you one thing that is common. I think it’s general in Nigeria but let me speak on the entertainment industry. Those before tend to look down on newcomers. They would be like, ‘Who’s this? Me, I’ve been in this business. I’m an aunty. She just came and said hi. Who’s this guy? He can’t behave himself. Does he know how long you’ve been doing it?’

“They [older actors] have been doing that. The reason many of us are relating with people like you [Ikedieze] is because when we came into the industry, you didn’t snub us. But the a**holes that are out there… We know them. And now they act all cool.

“So, it’s not just a Gen Z thing, the Old Nollywood, there are many of them who have seniority complexes,” Bovi said.