Nollywood actress, Juliana Olayode issues a heartfelt apology to her senior colleague Funke Akindele after their fallout of over 6 years. The rift between the two actresses started in 2017 following Juliana’s appearance in Funke Akindele’s popular series “Jenifa’s Diary.”
Juliana Olayode rekindles her relationship with Funke. Image Credit: @olayodejuliana
Source: Instagram In a lengthy Instagram post, Juliana Olayode reflected on her sudden rise to fame after playing the lead role in Funke Akindele‘s movie. She acknowledged the instrumental role Funke played in bringing her into the spotlight and expressed how overwhelmed she became by the newfound fame. Juliana also admitted that her lack of understanding of the intricacies of the entertainment industry, combined with the influence of a misguiding manager, manifested in her behaviour. She revealed that her manager had sent an email behind her back to Funke Akindele’s production company, leading to their fallout. While Juliana Olayode had already privately reached out to Funke Akindele to apologize and reconcile, she felt it was important to publicly express her remorse.
Throwback photo of Juliana and Akindele. Image Credit: @olayodejuliana
Source: Instagram Juliana’s apology to Akindele “As a teenager, my career in the mainstream entertainment industry started where many people who have put in years of hardwork could only dream of, how could a neophyte even start from the mainstream, if not for a miracle? In my own case, the mercy of God and unmerited favour was evident, I broke into the industry by playing a friend and co lead with a screen goddess who had put in decades of hardwork and unprecedented creativity even as at that time.
God used Aunty Funke Akindele @funkejenifaakindele to put me into the limelight. It was a shocker for me, especially at that tender age, when I had barely left secondary school, the kind of fame I earned from playing Toyosi in Jenifa’s Diary was too enormous for my understanding. However, the lack of industry nitty gritty started manifesting in me, coupled with the fact that I had a guardian (manager) who didn’t understand how the entertainment industry works, and I believed anything he feels and says.
Veteran actress, Funke Akindele. Image Credits: @funkejenifaakindele
Source: Instagram My guardian sent an email to Scene One TV, the producers of the Sitcom, which entire content I wasn’t aware of until recently. The story of my goofs at the take off of my career can not be exhausted in a million words, I want to use this opportunity to apologize to Aunty Funke Akindele, ọmọdé ò lè mọ ẹ̀kọ́ jẹ, kó má ra lọ́wọ́, I am incredibly sorry for how I hurt you and how the email that was sent hurt you. Please forgive me for my childish mistakes of the past, I am deeply sorry for everything.🙏🙏
I love you eternally Aunty Funke.
❤️❤️ NB: I just feel the burden to make this official, it’s not an attempt for people to help me beg her, I have met Aunty Funke, she has forgiven me, she hugged me, prayed for me, cooked for me like she used to in those good old days, Jollof rice elemi meji, fried rice and sweet chicken.(lol)
I am her baby forever. She is such a sweet soul. The good days are back and you should probably anticipate 🤐. I love you all, thank you 😍.”
