🥤We cannot afford to be divided on this

👋 Good morning. Happy holidays! Well, it wasn't much of one for me, but I hope it was glorious for you. I'd normally say something profound here, but I'm beat today, and the weight of the children and teachers from Oyo State, Nigeria, still in captivity is sitting too heavy for profundity. I do talk a bit about the abductions in this week’s edition, though. But don't worry, it's not all gory. Yet.

In this edition: we spoke to a film influencer about ethics and access, what we should be focused on with the abductions, this week in pop culture, and more.

If you’re enjoying this, don’t forget to subscribe and join The Juice community. We’re building this together ♡.

Word of the week

Kenopsia

Meaning at the bottom of this newsletter

🗞️ THIS WEEK IN POP CULTURE

🎵 MUSIC

Tiwa Savage is back, and she brought Mavo and Wande Coal with her! Energy is out today, and honestly, the rollout alone had us in our feelings — very creative, very her. We're a little jealous we didn't think of it first.

🏛️ POLITICS

On May 15, 39 pupils and 7 teachers were abducted from three schools in Oyo. Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis is spreading, and the recent Children’s Day was anything but happy. The kids deserve better. We all do.

🌍 SOCIAL

Meta is introducing paid subscription tiers for WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. They are graduating from simply making us miserable for free. On the bright side, maybe we'll finally be more productive human beings. Skill up szn, perhaps?

📽️ FILM

The Esiri brothers are not letting up! Clarissa now holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Nigerian cinema, take a bow.

↝ TRENDING

President BAT was asked about the worsening insecurity situation, and what we got was: "nowhere in the holy teachings is banditry allowed." We're still waiting on what comes after that. In the meantime, we have our PVCs, and we will be using them.

Many are already using Pulse’s editorials and socials to grow their businesses and tell their stories to more than 5 million people. Just saying. Oh, and did I mention it only takes you one click?

MAIN SQUEEZE

What’s the job of a film influencer?

If you were on Nigerian film Twitter last Sunday, you probably saw it. A film influencer was invited to the premiere of Ajosepo 2: The Gathering and made a video that, somewhere between the excitement and the marketing, gave away things you were not supposed to know until you were seated in the cinema yourself.

The film opened on May 28, but by then, the plot had already travelled. It sparked a conversation — mostly among other influencers — about who should even be in the room at these premieres.

And it got us thinking: what does ethical film influencing actually look like, and does anyone in the industry face real consequences for getting it wrong?

We sat down with Akintoye Adeola Comfort (deyola_a), a film influencer on X who has been passionate about the craft long before it started paying her in 2023. In this interview, she talks about ethics, access, and where the line should be drawn.

Where does the line sit between building hype for a film and giving almost the whole thing away?

The line is intention. Are you trying to make people want to see the film, or are you trying to prove that you’ve seen it? Those are two very different goals, and the content you create will show which one you’re chasing.

You can hype a film without dropping a single spoiler. You can talk about how an actor carried their role, how a character was written with so much intention, or how the casting just made sense. None of that tells your audience the story. All of it makes them want to experience it for themselves.

Do Nigerian film influencers operate with any agreed-upon code of conduct, and if not, should they?

There’s no formal code, and most of us are just operating on personal ethics and vibes, which works. A code of conduct won’t stop someone who isn’t thinking about the impact of what they’re sharing, but a genuine sense of responsibility will.

If you love this industry, that love should show up in how you talk about the work. Be thoughtful about what you put out, especially around films still finding their audience.

When engagement metrics are the goal, how do you make sure the film doesn’t become collateral damage?

I think the problem starts when we let social media become the measure for a film’s value. Engagement numbers don’t tell you if a film is good. Views and likes don’t tell how many people will actually buy tickets to watch a film.

A film can have a quiet online presence and still move people deeply, and a film can go viral and still flop. So when I’m creating content around a film, I’m not trying to make it trend. I’m simply trying to make people want to experience it by themselves.

I’m intentional about what I leave out. The best thing I can do for a film is make my audience curious, and curiosity only works when there’s still something left to discover.

Should filmmakers and studios start gatekeeping premiere access more aggressively, and what would that mean for smaller influencers?

I don’t think gatekeeping premiere access is the answer. At the end of the day, every producer wants to sell their film, and the best thing you can have is a community of people who are genuinely excited to talk about it.

More people means more reach, more conversations, and more people hearing about the film from someone they trust. A smaller influencer might not have the biggest numbers, but their community trusts them in a way that a massive following doesn’t always guarantee. 

The effect of a small influencer losing access to premieres means they lose credibility with their audience. Part of what makes a film influencer valuable is being in the room, being early, being present. If smaller influencers are consistently missing from those moments, their audience starts to question why. 

In the case where an influencer reveals too much too early, should there be consequences?

Yes, but consequences that make sense. Agencies, studios, and PR teams should pull future access, at a minimum. And within our community, we should be willing to call it out professionally.

We don’t have a formal set of rules guiding this space. There’s no document anyone signed, but that doesn’t mean people don’t know right from wrong. 

I genuinely believe that most of the time, when an influencer reveals too much or posts content that damages a film, they know exactly what they’re doing. And since we don’t have an official body holding anyone accountable, the community has to do it.

We have to be willing to call it out.

🔪 THE PEEL

We cannot afford to be divided on the abduction of children

On Friday, May 15, 2026, armed men abducted 39 pupils along with several of their teachers in an attack targeting several schools in Oyo State. As of today, they are still in captivity. Since then, Nigerian celebrities have been speaking out, and the internet has had a lot to say about who is speaking and who isn't.

Some have been celebrated, others have been dragged through the mud. Falz, as always, has shown up. It is not the first time. But what happens when we start to lose sight of the actual perpetrators?

Peeling it back

During the #EndSARS protests of 2020, when it felt like the country was on fire, and most of the industry folks went quiet, Falz and Mr Macaroni were in the streets, microphones and placards in hand, putting their platforms and their bodies where their mouths were. They built that trust, and the people remember.

Others have also come out to express sympathy for the children and their families, particularly Toyin Abraham and Tiwa Savage, and are being dragged. For Abraham, it is difficult to separate her voice now from the very visible support she gave President Tinubu during the last election.

And honestly, the anger makes sense. I don’t think anyone should soften that, as hypocrisy must be called out and people must be held accountable for the positions they have taken and the ones they refused to take. That is fair, and it is necessary.

But.

Do not lose the plot

Here is the thing about outrage: it is energy, and energy needs direction. Right now, more than 30 children and their teachers are somewhere, scared and alone, and the most important thing we can do is keep the pressure on until they come home. 

Every conversation that shifts entirely to who posted what and who deserves our applause is a conversation that has moved away from the children.

The core

Moreso, we have been here before. In 2014, #BringBackOurGirls started as a movement that shook the world and trended globally. And some of those girls never came back. That campaign, for all its power, eventually got swallowed by politics and distraction. There isn’t much that we can do, but our voices must be heard. 

What this moment needs

More than perfect allies, this moment needs a united front. It needs noise that is pointed at anyone remotely responsible for this crisis. And that includes everybody with the power and the responsibility to bring these children home.

It needs us to resist the very Nigerian temptation to turn every crisis into a referendum on celebrity character, because that is a fight that will still be there tomorrow. These children may not have tomorrow.

Hold the celebrities accountable, yes. But hold the government more accountable. Be angry at the hypocrisy, but be angrier at the failure of the state. Do not let witch-hunting become the headline when the headline should be: bring them home.

🎵 PRESSED BY THE JUICE

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WORD OF THE DAY

Kenopsia - the eerie, unsettling atmosphere of a place that is usually busy but is now abandoned. A school at night. An empty stadium. A city during a lockdown.