We love BellaNaija. Family, really. And so, we have to love Atoke. And no reason not to really – she is a fan favourite with the BN audience, with audiences generally, and she has that girl-next-door vibe that’s the soul of blogging.

Somehow, that connection didn’t carry through with most of her reporting from the Toronto International Film Festival tagged ‘Atoke at TIFF 2016’.

She isn’t a film critic, and doesn’t get much of film. That much is clear. To be honest, people don’t come to her for depth, they come to her for flair. So the commenters were a tad unfair.

But when she began to talk about one film after the next, come for her they did.

Exhibit A:
Busarni September 19, 2016 at 10:22 am
Atoke, how much were you paid? Nonsense; the same movie that professional film critics battered left , right and center. I know she must have put in hard work but she needs to invest more in studying and researching on how to be a better film producer, actor etc.

Exhibit B:
bruno September 18, 2016 at 9:26 pm
atoke u are not a good film critic. how can u love every single naija movie shown at TIFF. abi u have low standards when it comes to entertainment. abi any small thing can make u laugh or entertain u?

Exhibit C:
K-babe September 18, 2016 at 10:59 pm
I think, I will just go and come back with all the links to the reviews I read, then from there, we can continue with Atoke’s crowd pleasing reviews.
If only I was a good writer. Where is Oris that film reviewer, he is the only film reviewer in Nigeria. So honest and blunt that is what our filmmakers need.

So Atoke retaliated with a Public Announcement at the bottom of her reviews.
No payments in cash, or promise of favours, have been received in exchange for the ‘Atoke at TIFF16’ stories. The views expressed in the stories reflect the writer’s personal take from the events she attended at the festival – and not the opinion of a film critic.

Which is more than a bit weird, because she did position herself as a film critic in her stories.

Like when she said the below HERE.

Unfortunately, an actor is supposed to be versatile and should be able to slip into various roles as the script demands. If your work shines best when you’re acting only certain stereotypical roles, it’s an indication for more training and practice.

Erm, that’s film criticism.

It’s a common writing trick sha. Come at a work of art with the authority of a critic, and then when someone criticizes the critic, they get a ‘But I’m just a harmless movie goer’.

No excuses, babes. This work is hard. No need to explain, no need to cop out. Heat happens when you get into the kitchen.

Isime Esene