Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Genevieve Nnaji
Veteran Nigerian actress, Omotola Jalade, has dismissed long-standing rumours that she was feuding with fellow screen icon, Genevieve Nnaji.
For years, speculation has suggested that the two actresses did not get along, with fans often portraying them as rivals in the Nigerian film industry. However, speaking in an interview on Yanga FM, Omotola described the claims as false.
According to her, there was never any fight between them, stressing that not being close friends does not mean they are enemies.
“People don’t need to be best friends,” she said, explaining that fans and the media created a narrative of rivalry that did not exist. “They started the quarrel before we even knew we were quarrelling. There was no quarrel.”
When asked whether there had been a long-standing disagreement that lasted for years before their collaboration on the film Ije, Omotola again denied the claim, saying they communicated normally behind the scenes.
She noted that similar narratives are often created around celebrities, comparing their situation to rivalries commonly projected onto music stars today.
Omotola explained that at the peak of their careers, comparisons about who was the “hottest” actress naturally created tension in public spaces, but they were misinterpreted as personal conflicts.
“We were young, everyone was doing their own thing. That kind of tension happens in the industry, but people read more into it than was actually there,” she said.