Actress Juliana Olayode has apologised to her senior colleague Funke Akindele following their disagreement while working together on the popular sitcom Jenifa’s Diary.
Juliana, 27, said in a lengthy Instagram post on Saturday that she hurt Funke, whom she said was a miracle God used to bring her to the limelight, due to her little knowledge of how the movie industry works.
In 2017, news broke that Juliana, who played the role of Toyosi in Jenifa’s Diary, had been dropped over alleged monetary issues.
Juliana, also called Toyo Baby, said in her post that she felt she needed to publicly revisit the matter though Funke had forgiven her.
She wrote, “As a teenager, my career in the mainstream entertainment industry started where many people who have put in years of hard work 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 hard work 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.
“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 cannot 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.”
Juliana hinted that she might be back working on the sitcom.
“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,” she added.
