Funke Akindele and Toyin Abraham Rivalry Heats Up Before December Movie Releases

As Nollywood stars Funke Akindele and Toyin Abraham get ready to drop new films in December, fans have started comparing them again. They are looking closely at how they promote their movies, their connections in the industry, and their goals at the box office.

Both actresses are well-known in Nigeria's film scene. They often find themselves in online arguments about how well their movies do, how they promote them, and claims that one is trying to copy the other.

Even though the rivalry has calmed down at times, recent events have sparked new discussions. Supporters of both actresses, known as Titans and Jenifans, are examining their actions and interpreting normal events as signs of a feud.

The upcoming films, The Four: No One Fights Alone from Akindele and Bestie from Abraham, add fuel to this competition. Their promotional efforts are drawing comparisons as the December cinema season approaches.

One recent issue involves the actresses using custom Adire fabrics to promote their films. Akindele and her team, including Wumi Toriola, Kemity, and Lateef Adedimeji, wore matching blue Adire fabric with the title of The Four at a birthday party for Nike Akinyemi, the CEO of KolonyEvents.

Abraham's fans pointed out her 2023 promotional outfits for Malaika, arguing that she has used custom fabrics before. Soon after, Abraham posted photos of herself in pink-and-orange Adire fabric with the title of Bestie. This similarity led to claims of copying, which her designer denied, saying they planned the fabric earlier.

A fan, Mide Love (@mide_finegirl22), commented, "Babe I’m seeing too much coincidence in trying to copy everything Funke does. First was the Adire for promotion then now she’s talking about TikTok collaboration, just when Funke announced her own yesterday. The timing is just somehow."

Another fan, Tbaz (@Omoeriolu), replied, "Who’s copying who??? It’s you people that are the problem atp… Toyin has always been using Adire for her movie promotion; no be today na so why were you people not saying FA copied?"

Some Jenifans also criticized Abraham's announcement of her new film title while showcasing recent titles, calling it "Funke style."

In October, Akindele's partnership with Facebook for The Four became another topic for discussion. Around the same time, Abraham shared a throwback post about her participation in a TikTok cinema event linked to Oversabi Aunty while expressing excitement for Bestie.

A fan, nddydav (@nddydav22), wrote, "If pain were a person it’s definitely you.. So because Funke Akindele partnered with Facebook, today you are doing throwback."

Another commenter, Arabella (@Bellahush2), had a different view, saying, "Funke fans were throwing shade at Toyin that she will soon copy Funke collaborating with Facebook. Later, Toyin posted her throwback and Funke fans started dragging her."

The two activities were not the same. Akindele had a watch party for Behind the Scenes, while Abraham went to a TikTok Africa event where the same film was shown. But fans continued to argue about which actress had a better strategy for digital platforms.

When Akindele’s interview with Larry Madowo on CNN’s African Voices aired around October 30, 2026, fans compared the actresses’ appearances in the media. Titans shared Abraham’s 2023 CNN interview. Prince Adeshina (@RealAdeshina) said, "In 2023, CNN Africa interviewed Toyin Abraham. Kindly watch."

Jenifans responded by highlighting Akindele’s previous appearances. Enit’ayanfe Ayosojumi Akinsanya (@OsumareAyomi) wrote, "Ahh. You people won’t stop with false info? Fra, perhaps? Funke Akindele got on CNN Africa in 2017 oo. Now again, 2026, on CNN Global. Nobody else that was mentioned set any trend o. 2017 is not 2023 o. O jina si’ra won. Stop setting your mama up for unnecessary drags."

Other Jenifans also shared clips of Akindele to show that she had international visibility years before.

The rivalry picked up in mid-October after an 11-minute audio recording allegedly involving Abraham and TikTok fan Bisgold leaked online. In the recording, Bisgold made disrespectful comments about Akindele.

This recording received backlash from some Jenifans, who saw it as hypocritical and tied it to earlier events involving the actresses. Some Titans questioned the recording's authenticity and criticized the spread of what was called a private conversation.

Bisgold later apologized to Abraham. Abraham did not confirm that the voice in the recording was hers. Actress Foluke Daramola defended Abraham after the voice-note issue, saying, "Oluwatoyin. Is there anything that she can say behind ur back and she won’t say in front of u? I doubt that sha. But one thing I will say about her is the wonderful spirit she has even with these Genz’s the last time I called my daughter she didn’t pick I told her I was with Toyin, she called back sharp sharp. I don’t know how u do it o @toyin_abraham but u have a wonderful spirit and I bless God for ur life. #bestieiscoming."

Fans criticized her for “stylishly taking sides.” She later replied to the critics, accepting the label, questioning the hate, and warning that if anyone tried nonsense, she would curse them.

The March 29, 2026, meeting between the actresses at Iyabo Ojo’s film premiere, The Return of Arinzo, is still a hot topic online. A video from the event showed Abraham going to a table where Akindele sat with Ojo and Mercy Aigbe. While Ojo and Aigbe greeted Abraham, reports said Akindele did not respond to her greeting.

This encounter led to debates on social media about the actresses’ body language and how they interacted. Both actresses later unfollowed each other on social media, fueling more speculation about their relationship.

Fans on both sides continue to discuss the incident, with some defending Akindele’s response and others criticizing the perceived snub. With The Four: No One Fights Alone and Bestie set for the December cinema season, fans will keep a close watch on their promotional campaigns. Online comparisons have kept the rivalry alive in public view.