Toyin Abraham: How gossip fueled rivalry between Funke Akindele and I

Toyin Abraham, the Nigerian actress, has opened up about her past rivalry with Funke Akindele, her colleague.

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.

Toyin Abraham 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,” she wrote.

“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 1B, you made it possible for other women to dream.”