Yomi Fabiyi has come out to clear the air on the allegations made against him by Nollywood actress Bimpe Oyebade.
Actress Bimpe Oyebade, sometimes called Mo Bimpe, accused the producer of not casting her in his movies because she turned down his sexual advances.
Yomi Fabiyi, however, has shared his version of the story.
The 'Oko Iyabo' producer made it known that he never harassed the actress but only made sexual advances on her, which was vice-versa.
Fabiyi defended his actions in an interview with The Punch, saying, "I am an adult, and I am free to be sexually attracted to anybody. At least, I am thankful to God that she never said I forced her".
He stressed that the public should be careful when drawing the line between sexual harassment and sexual attraction. Nevertheless, he was glad that the actress didn't say he forced her:
"I am thankful to God that she never said I forced her."
He ended up calling the actress silly for bringing up sexual advancement when sexual harassment was being discussed.
He asked, "We are talking about sexual harassment, and she is talking about ‘toasting’. Is that not silly?”
Why he stopped casting the actress
Contrary to what the actress said, Yomi Fabiyi told The Punch that he stopped casting Mo Bimpe because she backstabbed him.
He lamented that despite bringing the actress to the limelight in 2015, the actress chose to 'wrong' him. The controversial actor also alleged that she 'hijacked all his backbones' without his permission.
After their first work together, Fabiyi said, she chose to work with his sponsor, production manager, and cinematographer without asking him.
“If she had asked me, I would not have stopped her. Why are you stealing what is yours?", he was quoted as saying.
According to Fabiyi, this and other actions made him stop casting her, not because she turned down his sexual advances.
'Oko Iyabo' Movie and his suspension
The Theater Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners of Nigeria, TAMPAN, recently banned Fabiyi for producing the 'Oko Iyabo' movie, which depicted his stand on the Baba Ijesha assault case. In response, the director asserted that making the film was part of his fundamental human rights. In addition, Fabiyi stated that he was not bothered because he never belonged to the association.