‘Funke Akindele called to yell at me’ — Kunle Afolayan clarifies cinema comment

01 Feb 2026, 14:26 by Taiwo Oshunloye · TheCable Lifestyle

Kunle Afolayan, the Nigerian filmmaker, has clarified his recent statements on the demanding nature of modern film promotion.

In a recent interview with Arise TV, Kunle stated that his words were misinterpreted and led to an unintended public disagreement with colleague Funke Akindele.

The controversy originated during Afolayan’s appearance at the Lagos Business of Film summit.

There, he described the current, relentless cycle of content creation required to market films as “unsustainable”.

He cited the exhaustive demand as a primary reason he has stepped back from producing cinema releases.

Afolayan also appeared to have taken a swipe at Akindele’s marketing strategies for her movie releases.

Akindele responded publicly, asserting that creators can and should develop their own promotional models and that “the sky was big enough for everyone to fly”.

Addressing the situation, Afolayan expressed surprise at the fallout.

He revealed that Akindele had called him personally, upset, and said, “I know you don’t like me, but don’t mention my name in your interviews”.

The filmmaker stressed that his summit comments were part of a business-focused conversation with cinema operators, explaining his personal choice.

“It was weird, and I am like, where is this coming from? She is like a sister to me. In Unilag, I would go to her hostel, her sister is also my friend, so I am not sure where this is coming from. I never said anything was wrong with it. For me, it is draining. I have absolutely nothing against it,” he said.

“I am just saying what I will not do. The honest truth is, it was a forum, it was a film business forum, and we had the cinema operators there, and the cinema operators were asking me, when are you coming back to cinema, and I said, I can’t come to cinema if you cannot guarantee that I will make substantial money.”

He extended an apology to Akindele if she felt offended but criticized the subsequent online backlash.

“If for any reason she feels offended, I’m sorry.
But one thing she has done, which I think is totally wrong, and I would never do this kind of a thing, is to use social media rats to come after whoever it is,” he added.

“I clearly said to them (young filmmakers), that if you want to adopt a model that I think will work for you now, then follow Funke Akindele’s model. Funke started at a younger age, and then she did ‘Jenifa’ with minimal budget, rolling resources, and from then, look at Funke’s brand now, she has grown.”

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