Industry gossip fueled rivalry between Funke Akindele and I

Nollywood actress, Toyin Abraham, is ready to bury the hatchet with her colleague and longtime rival, Funke Akindele.

Speaking for the first time about how her rivalry with Funke Akindele began, she explained that there was fierce competition to be number one in those days in the Yoruba sector of the movie industry.

Rumours of a feud between the actresses swirled after Abraham released ‘The Ghost and the Tout Too’ in 2021.

In a post on Instagram, Abraham revealed that her rift with Akindele was fueled by industry gossip. She explained that the rumours caused damage and fostered unhealthy competition.

She added that the fierce competition created camps, enmity, and much professional gossip.

Toyin stated that the tide began to turn with maturity and she realised they can both thrive without negativity.

She congratulated Akindele on her box office success with ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ and called for unity in the movie industry.

“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 gossip.

“You have caused lots of damage with ‘he-said, she-said’. In those days of the Yoruba film industry, @funkejenifaakindele was 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.

“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 realised 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 1 billion, you made it possible for other women to dream,” she wrote

Reacting to Toyin’s peace offering, Funke Akindele commented: “Toyin baby, all the best dear.”