For Nollywood veteran Shan George, honesty hasn’t always paid off. In fact, she says it once closed the door on what could have been a career-changing investment.

The actress and filmmaker shared the story in a Facebook post this week, looking back more than a decade to her early years as a struggling producer. After inviting a well-known billionaire to one of her premieres, she seized the moment to pitch him on her next project.

When asked about her budget, George says she gave him the truth: six million naira; a considerable sum for her at the time. His response? A polite smile, a wave of the hand, and silence that stretched into years.

“I kept trying to reach him afterwards, but he never took me seriously,” George wrote. “Much later, I read an interview where he said he doesn’t bother with ‘little people.’ That’s when I understood why.”

Now, with decades of experience and multimillion-dollar productions behind her, George says she looks back without regret, even if honesty may have slowed her rise.

“This is how the truth keeps holding us back,” she reflected. “Should I have lied then? I won’t join the lying gang, nor fake it to make it. Sir, I now make movies with $100 million budgets. One Bitcoin…would you invest now, or are we still too small?”

George has built a reputation not just for her work on screen but also for speaking boldly about the realities of Nollywood. She has called out colleagues for showcasing rented homes as personal mansions, challenged fashion brands over how they treat customers, and just last year, recovered 3.6 million naira after falling victim to a banking fraud case.

Her latest revelation struck a chord with fans and fellow creatives, sparking online debates about integrity, perception, and the hurdles faced by Nigeria’s entertainment industry. For George, the message remains simple: the truth may cost you, but it never bankrupts you.