Nollywood discussions have been dominated by a 20-second clip from Sunday night's Lagos premiere of Iyabo Ojo's The Return of Arinzo, in which Funke Akindele seemed to reject a greeting from fellow actress and producer Toyin Abraham in front of cameras and industry visitors. The incident happened at the premiere of Ojo's movie, which is scheduled to open in theaters on April 3. Rita Dominic, Femi Adebayo, Muyiwa Ademola, Fathia Balogun, Funke Akindele, and Toyin Abraham were among the notable industry figures who attended the premiere.
Toyin Abraham approached Akindele, caressed her arm, and leaned in to speak to her for more than five seconds in the now-viral video. Throughout, Akindele kept her eyes forward and did not appear to respond to the welcome. The other visitors seated next to Akindele were then greeted by Abraham. The same reaction was given when she seemed to try again.
Before the Abraham
moment, the atmosphere was already electric. Earlier in the evening, Funke
Akindele and Mercy Aigbe arrived at their seats at the same table almost
simultaneously, but neither of them acknowledged the other.
The two sat down without so much as a glance exchanged between them, a moment that did not go unnoticed by those in attendance and set the tone for what was to come. The aftermath moved quickly from the physical to the digital. Abraham unfollowed Akindele on Instagram and posted, then deleted, a vow to never greet her again.
In response, Akindele unfollowed Abraham, intensifying a rivalry that had appeared to be waning as recently as September 2025, when the two were spotted getting along well at another premiere. Akindele had openly defended herself and Abraham against online body-shaming a few days prior to Sunday's event, a move that now seems different in retrospect.
The tension between
the two has deeper roots. Their rivalry sharpened publicly in 2021 during a box office clash between Akindele's Omo Ghetto: The Saga and Abraham's The Ghost
and the Tout Too.
The animosity was further heightened with the publication of Anikulapo season 2. During that time, Akindele was publicly disparaged by filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, and Abraham quickly made it clear whose side she supported. In support of Afolayan, she wrote a skit. A narrative that had been developing in business circles that Akindele was the challenging party in these recurrent disputes was reinforced by the moment, which was generally interpreted as Abraham siding against Akindele.
Reactions on the internet have been mixed. Akindele has come under fire from
some for what they perceive to be a public act of disrespect toward a coworker.
Others have argued that forced friendliness is ineffective and have supported
her right to personal boundaries.
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