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👋 Good morning. Do you know that today is the 100th day of 2026? Which means 265 days remain. We're not here to stress you; we're just saying the clock is very much running. Remember that you came into this world to love, be loved, and absolutely win. So wherever you are right now, there's still time to act like it. Now — what happened on the internet this week? |
Let’s get into it ⬇️ |
In this edition: This week in pop culture, a conversation about casual sex, does Nollywood need royalties, and more. |
If you’re enjoying this, don’t forget to subscribe and join The Juice community. We’re building this together ♡. |
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Shalom Tewobola,
Editor.
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Quick Question |
Have you gotten your PVC, and who are you rooting for in the next presidential election? |
Answer at the bottom of this newsletter |
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🗞️ THIS WEEK IN POP CULTURE |
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🎵 MUSIC |
The Nigerian DJ Association announced a temporary suspension of Burna Boy’s music. So, DJs are not allowed to play his songs during their sets till further notice. This comes after the “African Giant” got into a physical altercation with DJ Tunez. Personally, we think somebody needs to remind Burna Boy of his age. |
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䷀ CREATIVE ECONOMY |
The Nigerian government has announced another creative fund. They are set to pump €100 million into the creative economy. Hopefully, we see where this fund goes to this time because, like Blessing Uzzi said last year, “we can’t keep announcing funds nobody gets." |
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🏦 FINANCE |
According to the World Bank, Nigeria’s economy is set to grow in the first half of 2026. We’ve been through so much that we doubt it, but fingers crossed. |
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📽️ FILM |
Kemi Adetiba is currently receiving smoke for an online open audition she called for. Basically, actors are posting monologues online with a hashtag. Critics have called it out as a humiliation kink. We don’t know why she couldn’t have just asked them to send in tapes. Feels like marketing for the film, but what do we know? |
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↝ TRENDING |
Seyi Tinubu was found partying with Nigerians at Homecoming. X is enraged and divided. Some people believe the audience should have just walked out, not minding that they paid for a ticket, and others believe they should have stayed because they paid. We believe they should have booed him, period. |
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MAIN SQUEEZE |
Can casual sex ever really be casual? |
Over the course of the week, a debate spanning borders emerged on X (formerly Twitter). Users debated the mechanics of casual sex. A handful of people believe that casual sex should come with dates, while another set are of the opinion that the expectation invalidates the casualness of the setup. |
Casual sex has existed for a long time and has even earned its place in pop culture. Films like Friends with Benefits really captured the setup but showed how messy it can be when feelings seep into the agreement. |
Sadiq and Amara are two twenty-somethings who have engaged in casual sex. For Amara, the system works, but for Sadiq, not so much. |
We sat with them to discuss the inner workings of casual sex and how they approach it as men and women. |
How do you define casual sex? |
Amara: I define casual sex as having sex with someone you aren’t in a romantic relationship with. |
Sadiq: For me, I define it as sex with someone you’re not dating or in conversations toward a relationship. |
Do you think casual sex should come with certain expectations, like going on dates or emotional investment? |
Amara: The only expectation I have with casual sex is good sex. Going on dates with the person is cool, but it’s not something I expect. As for the emotional investment, I think it depends on what you mean by it. |
If it’s basic respect, yeah, you shouldn’t be sleeping with people who hate you. I expect basic decency from people I sleep with, and I also give them that. However, too much emotional investment can lead to someone catching feelings, and it makes it messy. |
Sadiq: I don’t think so. I think it requires clear communication about where you’re at, but I also think dates and emotional investment nullify the idea of it being casual to begin with. |
If you both change your minds and decide you want to try something serious, then maybe. But otherwise, I don’t think they’re standard requirements. |
Amara: I agree kinda. Putting too much investment, data, or emotion into it makes it less casual. It also runs the risk of being chaotic because then the people start liking each other |
Sadiq: Precisely. I think where the conflict often shows up is when one person in the engagement wants a different thing than what they’ve communicated, whether they’re aware of it or not. |
Communicating that they want to be casual, knowing they want a committed relationship. Or communicating that they want to start casual with a relationship as the end goal, knowing they don’t want one. |
Do you feel casual sex is different for men and women? |
Amara: People say it’s different (emotionally); in my experience, that’s not true. I do have a good track record of “chopping and cleaning mouth”. I am only bothered about the possibility of an STD and a pregnancy scare. Which is why my casual sex is usually safe. |
People say men are not the ones who get attached, and I don’t know how true that is. Got a few men who caught feelings when it was meant to be a scratch-my-itch kind of relationship. |
Anyway, I don’t subscribe to the idea that men are one way about casual relationships and women are another. I think humans are complex, and when it comes to casual relationships, it’s really up to what the person can handle. |
I think Sadiq can clarify the 'men get attached' sentiment since he’s a man |
Sadiq: I think it’s different for individuals, not necessarily by gender. I personally can’t do casual sex; the attachment always shows up eventually, and I struggle with seeing the people I’ve been with as things I can just move on from. |
It’s in part also because we’ve usually vibed to begin with, and I already like them in a personality sense, even if there aren’t romantic feelings. And I have many male friends who are the same way. |
But I also have many more that are really just going through the motions. I see it, I like it, I got it. And then that’s case closed for them. So I don’t think it’s a men’s thing, really, just people interacting with sex and others in different ways. |
However, maybe it helps to note that every time I’ve been in any one of these entanglements, the woman almost always wanted a relationship. But it remains a small sample size if we’re being honest. |
You clarified that you are not a fan of casual sex, but these women wanted something, so why didn’t they become girlfriends? |
Sadiq: Because I’m a terrible person? It’s a joke! |
It was often because during those times, I was not in a place where it could actually become a relationship. I was either more attached to someone else or was dealing with life kicking my ass. |
I’d go in thinking it could be casual and then leave thinking about how I could make it work. It wouldn’t, of course, but not for lack of intent. |
In your opinion, is casual sex truly “casual” if feelings or expectations start to develop? Can it stay purely physical? |
Amara: I don’t think it can be casual when feelings start. There is a certain form of detachment you have to have for casual sex to be casual. I have had men on my roster for years, and it’s still just physical. |
I don’t think you can have just a physical relationship forever (like I am good friends with men on my roster), but I think at least it’s possible to keep it just casual sex as long as both parties want that. |
Sadiq: I think it can stay purely physical. It’s just dependent on the kind of people in the engagement. It helps if you’re self-aware enough to know whether casual actually can work for you or not. |
I personally have sworn off it for multiple reasons, but mainly because someone always gets hurt, and then I’m attached to someone I may never speak to again. Not a fan. |
However, it’s possible for people who can ‘chop and clean mouth'; you just have to find them and be with them, and you’re golden. You may become buddies and know more than just their names, but it stays unattached. |
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🔪 THE PEEL |
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Dear Nollywood, royalties are not the problem |
Three days ago, celebrated actor Kanayo O. Kanayo brought a proposal before the actors’ guild. |
The proposal stated that actors should get lifetime royalties from movies they feature in, especially those whose lifespans are extended by streaming platforms. |
His proposal was met with vitriol. Directors like Jade Osiberu gave him a sarcastic reply via X: “I agree, jare. I think the association should also implement a law that when a producer makes a loss on a project, all the actors and crew come together to contribute to cover the losses incurred.” AMVCA writer Abdul Tijani Ahmed even called actors selfish. |
And I kept wondering, why this reaction? |
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Peeling it back |
Over the past years, we’ve had veteran actors – who built the foundation of what Nollywood is today – come out seeking assistance. Clem Ohameze came out a few years ago seeking funding for a spinal issue that required funding. |
Prince James Uche battled kidney disease and publicly appealed for funds. And yet their old films still circulate widely in pop culture. They still generate memes, GIFs, and stickers. |
So is the ask truly unreasonable? |
Their labour continues to generate value, yet they see none of that long-term benefit. If the work lives on, why doesn’t the compensation? |
While actors are well within their rights to dream of the possibilities of a royalty-based industry, the producers'/directors' reactions stem from the state of Nollywood. |
Nollywood currently suffers from weak distribution systems. The giant streamers, Netflix and Prime Video, came and left. Showmax is nearing its end; cinema culture in Nigeria is dying thanks to the federal government. |
The industry also has poor monetization pipelines, with a lot of filmmakers relying on YouTube and the good old-fashioned brand placement (which is poorly done, by the way, look up Love in Every Word sequel). |
Funding is unstable. Nollywood currently struggles to make initial profit; talk less of long-term payouts. You can’t distribute royalties in a system that barely tracks revenue. |
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Another layer |
I know the immediate retort would be, “but Hollywood does it." Well, look around, my people; we are not in Hollywood. I can’t see the Statue of Liberty or the Beverly Hills parking lot. |
But away from that, royalties and residuals are strongest in TV, thanks to reruns and syndication. TV is near its tombstone in Nollywood. Film actors in Hollywood are often paid upfront unless contracts specify otherwise. |
And these systems rely on steady unions, contracts, and tracking infrastructure. |
What does it mean? |
Simply put, royalty systems are built on structure, and that is something Nollywood lacks. |
However, the debate is a bit misdirected. It’s not an “Actors are selfish” vs “Producers are greedy” squabble; it should be a question: “Why doesn’t Nollywood have the systems to support this?” which transforms to: “How do we build these systems?” |
A sustainable industry is one where actors can live off their craft; they don’t have to move between fifteen sets in one week. |
One where work continues to generate income over time. Picture this: functional distribution, transparent revenue tracking, long-term compensation models, all these sound like heaven, and we can have it. |
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The core |
Producers are right about current limitations, and actors are right to demand better. Royalty rights are not the enemy. The birth of this discussion is an indication that an industry is trying to evolve. |
This isn’t about whether Nollywood can afford royalties; it’s whether it’s willing to become the kind of industry that can. |
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🎵 PRESSED BY THE JUICE |
This week’s playlist |
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The Cut magazine said it’s crushing season, so we are back in loveeee! Get on the feeling with us with our playlist. We’ve got Kotrell, Tega Ethan, Dwin Stoic, and many others ready to make you fall all over in love! |
Don’t forget to save, we update frequently. |
Interested in guest curating? Reply to our mail, thejuice@pulse.ng |
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Who are you rooting for in the presidential election? |
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FRESH STATS |
1.4 B Nigerians spent 1.4 billion hours on Spotify last year. Which means someone out there is doing the heavy lifting for the rest of us. |
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Today’s email was brought to you by Shalom Tewobola and Praise Okeoghene Vandeh. Editing by: Shalom Tewobola. Designs by: Daniel Banjoko |
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