Iyabo Ojo has finally spoken on the renewed tension between her colleagues, Funke Akindele and Toyin Abraham, shedding light on what led to their fallout and her involvement in their past reconciliation.
The actress became a trending topic after the awkward moment at the premiere of her film The Return of Arinzo in Lagos, where Funke Akindele appeared to ignore Toyin Abraham.
Responding to the backlash she received online, Iyabo said:
“For those of you maligning my character, insulting me, and calling me unprintable names, this is for you,”
She explained that she has had a long-standing friendship with Funke, admitting that they had disagreements in the past, including a time she publicly criticised her over Toyin’s movie.
“I once came online to drag Funke because of Toyin’s movie. That was a wrong move on my part, I should have handled it better. Funke and I later made up, and we addressed all our issues and put them behind us,”
Iyabo also revealed that she made serious efforts to reconcile both actresses, even going as far as pleading with them to make peace. According to her, they eventually agreed, with a condition that they would avoid throwing subtle jabs online and instead resolve issues privately.
“I tried my very best to settle both of them, cried, knelt down, begged both parties to embrace peace which they both later did, reason you saw them a few months ago interacting with one another, but there was a condition, no one was to shade online if any issue arose, they both promised to address it off camera, but unfortunately, Dec came, Toyin made some complaints about her movie in cinemas claiming some people or person was trying to sabotage her, some fans pointed accusing fingers towards Funke, that sparked up a fresh beef,”
Speaking further, Iyabo addressed why Toyin Abraham was absent from her movie. She disclosed that Toyin was initially part of the cast but had to withdraw at the last minute due to exhaustion and travel plans, forcing her to make major adjustments to the production.
“About The Return of Arinzo, Toyin was suppose to be in it but she said she was exhausted, and she also had to travel, so she pulled out last minute, i was upset bcos it cost me alot, to rewrite the story, but the show must go on, we had a deadline to film if I wanted The Return of Arinzo to make 3rd of April ……. she apologized, we made up, and the rest is history.”
Despite her efforts, Iyabo expressed sadness over the renewed conflict and made it clear she no longer wants to be involved in the situation.
“Honestly, all this saddened me because the sky is big enough for all. I have tried my best, but at this point, I can’t beg anyone anymore. I honestly don’t want to get involved anymore. Please, you all should respect that… when both parties are ready, they will make peace……….. I love them both regardless,” she added.
Iyabo Ojo’s post about Funke Akindele and Toyin Abraham’s feud is below: