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How Failed Movie Gigs Turned Me To Cab Driver In U.S – Nigerian Actor 

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Nollywood actor Joseph Benjamin has revealed that failed movie gigs turned him into a cab driver after he moved to the U.S.

The 46-year-old disclosed that he relocated to the US after someone promised him movie gigs, but the individual later disappointed him.

He made this known while appearing on the latest episode of the Teju Babyface Deep Dive podcast hosted by comedian Teju Oyelakin.

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He said, “I got to America on a promise that I had some gigs waiting for me. So I thought I was going to have a soft landing there. I packed up everything from Nigeria, bought a one-way ticket, and came to America.

READ ALSO: I was Sleeping In My Car After I Left Banky W’s Record Label – Skales

“I was put in a well-furnished house and all of that. Then two days later, the person who I was supposed to book a deal with said to me, ‘Those our financiers have pulled out. They have an issue.’

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“So, I said, what do I do? He was like, ‘From next month on, you will have to start paying rent in this house.’ The amount of the one-month rent was equivalent to a one-year rent in Nigeria.

“I’m like, ‘I’m not earning any money so what do I do?’ I don’t know what to do. So, shot into that life, I had to figure out what to do. I had nowhere to go. Nothing to turn to.

“My phone was buzzing, like, ‘When are you coming back to Nigeria? We have this gig for you.’ $1,500 was all I came to America with. How do I buy a ticket to go back to Nigeria?”

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READ ALSO: Exclusive Breastfeeding Prevents 10 Million Cases Of Childhood Diarrhea – UNICEF

Benjamin also disclosed that he drove Uber, Lyft, and delivered Amazon packages to pay his bills in America.

And then someone gave me a car. I’m like, What do I do with the car? And they said Uber. I was driving for Uber and Lyft to pay my bills.

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“I carried a lot of Nigerians, my name on the Uber App was Joseph. The moment they get in or three minutes into the journey, they know I’m the one.”

“One woman even had to call her husband, and she ended up taking pictures with me. I even had some people say to me ‘Boss you will make it.”

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Oscar-winning Actress Diane Keaton Dead At 79 – Report

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Actress Diane Keaton, known for her Oscar-winning performance in 1977’s “Annie Hall” and her role in “The Godfather” films, has died at age 79, People magazine reported Saturday.

Details were not immediately available, and Keaton’s loved ones have asked for privacy, a family spokesperson told People, which confirmed that the actress died in California.

Keaton, a style icon, was a frequent collaborator of director Woody Allen, portraying the titular character in “Annie Hall,” the charming girlfriend of Allen’s comic Alvy Singer.

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The film also garnered Oscars for best picture, best director and best original screenplay, cementing Keaton’s place as one of the industry’s top actresses and an offbeat style icon as well.

READ ALSO:Full List Of Winners At Oscars 2025

The actress made her mark co-starring in eight Allen movies, from “Play in Again Sam” (1972) to “Manhattan” (1979) and “Manhattan Murder Mystery” (1993).

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As the Hollywood sexual harassment scandals detonated in late 2017, cascading from producer Harvey Weinstein to heavyweight actors like Kevin Spacey, old accusations of child sex abuse against Allen by his adoptive daughter Dylan, resurfaced.

Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him,” Keaton tweeted in January 2018.

A BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, Keaton scored Oscar nominations three other times for best actress, for “Reds,” “Marvin’s Room” and “Something’s Gotta Give.”

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READ ALSO:5 Nigerians Who Have Received Oscars Nomination, Award

In “The Godfather” films, she played Kay Adams, the girlfriend and eventual wife of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone.

Late in her career, Keaton starred in two movies about ageing women: “Book Club” (2018), with its message that love has no age, and “Poms” (2019).

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“Poms” is the story of Martha, a terminally ill woman who moves to a retirement community to die, but winds up forming a cheerleading squad made up of female senior citizens.

As for ageing, Keaton said in a 2019 interview with AFP that life actually got easier.

I think so, because what have you got to lose? It’s like it’s the truth. That’s what it is. You face it, we talk about it,” she said.

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READ ALSO:See Full List Of Winners At The 96th Oscars

Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946, Keaton was romantically involved with Allen, Pacino and Warren Beatty, but never married.

“Most people in the movies get married at some point, and then they divorce. But I’ve never even got married. I am (a) failure,” she joked in the 2019 interview.

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Did she regret it? “I don’t think about it a lot, but I’m aware of the fact that I’m unusual in that regard, and maybe I did miss out on something — but then, nobody can have everything, right?”

She is survived by her two children, Dexter and Duke.
AFP

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Why I Can’t Quit Music – Erigga

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Nigerian rapper Erhiga Agarivbie, popularly known as Erigga, has revealed that he can’t quit music, stressing that he is doing it for passion and not for financial gains.

In an interview with Hip TV, Erigga noted that every year, some of his colleagues leave the music industry due to various circumstances.

However, he said he can’t quit because music is his life.

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READ ALSO:Why I Will Never Date A Rapper Again – AKA’s Ex, Nadia Nakai

The rapper emphasised that his passion for music supersedes the financial and social benefits.

“Every year, people leave music for real-life issues. But I can’t stop. Music is life. It’s what keeps me going. Take the business and everything out of it, it’s more of a passion. I can’t disappoint my fans,” Erigga said.

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Tiwa Savage Reacts To Allegation Of Sabotaging Female Colleagues

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Afrobeats singer, Tiwa Savage has denied allegations of sabotaging other female artists in the music industry.

She challenged those accusing her of sabotaging her colleagues to mention their sources and come forward with evidence.

Recall that a few years ago Kenyan singer, Victoria Kimani, accused Tiwa Savage of indirectly blocking her from performing at several shows.

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READ ALSO:Tiwa Savage Opens Up On ‘Disrespectful’ Secret Romance With Nigerian Celebrity

Reacting in a recent episode of the Offair Show, Tiwa Savage explained that she was being wrongly accused of sabotaging the chances of other female artistes to get bookings, claiming that show promoters could be lying to other artists using her name.

If you’ve heard from anybody that I tried to block your bag, mention names. Maybe the promoters are lying and using me, maybe they don’t want to book three, four girls. So, they claim I am the one blocking others,” Savage said.

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