- Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele broke her silence after her colleague, Toyin Abraham Ajeyemi publicly buried the hatchet between them.
- Toyin shared a photo of Funke on Instagram, urging fans to end their conflict and stop the unhealthy competition.
- Toyin praised Funke’s achievements and expressed admiration, emphasizing the importance of healthy competition.
- Funke in reaction also wished Toyin success in her endeavours.
Highly-rated actress and film producer, Funke Akindele, has reacted to her colleague, Toyin Abraham Ajeyemi’s public gesture of reconciliation, effectively ending their feud.
A few hours ago, Toyin Abraham shared a photo of Funke Akindele on her Instagram page, accompanied by an open letter urging fans to cease any ongoing conflict between them.
Reflecting on the negative impact of fan-driven rivalry on their personal lives, careers, and relationship, Toyin emphasized their shared history of healthy competition and mutual success.
She notably congratulated Funke on her recent box office triumph with the film “A Tribe Called Judah.”
Toyin delved into their past competitive dynamic, highlighting the challenges they faced in the Yoruba film industry and how they gradually attained growth.
Despite initial rivalry and fan polarization, Toyin expressed admiration for Funke’s achievements and the inspiration she provided for other women in the industry. She acknowledged their evolving perspectives and emphasized the importance of supportive competition rather than negativity.
She wrote:
“If you guys knew the fierce competition to be number one in those days in the Yoruba industry (I don’t know if that still exists though). The fierce competition created camps, enmity, and many professional gossips. The number one cause of fights in the industry then was ‘he said, she said’ before the social media era. Dear Nollywood people, let me chip this in, stop tearing the industry down with your gossips. You have caused lots of damage with ‘he-said, she-said’.
Let me go back to my story. In those days of the Yoruba film industry, @funkejenifaakindele was like number one after the likes of Aunty Bukky and Aunty Faithia. I was the next in line. The competition was much and with many gossips in between, we became competitors and persona non grata.
She moved on to the English industry, I became number one before moving on too (A word of advice to young actors of today, no one will be number one forever. It doesn’t mean you fall down the pecking order, it might just be that you move on to bigger things. E rora tele bashubashu. You don’t own the industry, the industry is bigger than you). In the English industry, Aunty Funke and I continued the rivalry sort of. It pitted our fans against each other. We are two competitive Virgo women, we love to win and sometimes in that process, we splash dirt and mud.
But with time, age, and more wisdom, I have realized we can compete without being negatively competitive. Aunty Funke, I celebrate you for showing us what is possible. You are a winner. You sold over 1B, you made it possible for other women to dream. You ran us street with that 1B o, this year, many of us will move to 1B and we pray God makes you bigger.
Thank you for making great movies and selling them like your life depends on it. You taught other women to hustle harder. I had set records in box office records, Aunty came and beat them, today I am happy because she has challenged me to set higher goals. Sis, let’s compliment each other even in competition at the box office, I owe you one post in December (only 1 o, I need to sell market…Lol). I pray that God will make all your dreams come true. I admire you and wish you all the best.
With Love, T!”
In response, fans and other celebrities commended Toyin’s initiative for reconciliation, recognizing the significance of repairing relationships within the industry.
Funke Akindele, in turn, expressed her appreciation and extended well wishes to Toyin. Her message conveyed warmth and support, affirming their renewed connection.
She wrote: “Toyin baby ❤️❤️ all the best dear.”
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