Funke Akindele has responded to claims that she ignored the late actress Aderounmu Adejumoke when she reached out for assistance at the height of her sickness.
Aderounmu played Esther in the hit series Jenifa’s Diaries, produced by Akindele.
In an Instagram live session on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, the actress said she had no idea Aderounmu was sick. She said that she was forced to respond after she saw a comment on her page from a user who said, “May you bury your children.”
“I am doing this because I hold my fans dear to my heart and in this social media era if you keep saying, ‘I'm not going to talk,’ people will accuse you wrongly. People will say a lot of terrible things about you. But I'm not ready. I'm so unhappy,” Akindele said.
She said her relationship with Aderounmu was strictly professional and she didn’t know her outside of work. “She acted her role. Got paid and left,” Akindele said.
This comes after Aderounmu’s brother, Adeola Aderounmu, implied on Instagram that the family had tried to contact Akindele for assistance but she did not respond.
“You weh dem call tire, weh you no turn-up. She even sent Pascal to you, you still no reach out! Why the eye service now weh she don kpai? Adeola wrote on Instagram.
Akindele said she always gives but she doesn’t talk about it publicly and would have assisted if she knew. “I give randomly. I see people doing stuff and support them. What more do you want me to do? Please,” she said.
“I had to do this because this has to do with somebody’s life. I'm so unhappy because personally, you don't know what I am going through. I work hard, ‘round the clock. People will say ‘Ooh she doesn't support her colleagues. She doesn't attend events.’ I live in Amen Estate, Eleko. That is where my studio is. Before I drive down to Lekki or Ikoyi for an event,” she said the event would have ended.
“I don't beef any filmmaker. I face my thing. The record I have been able to break is by the grace of God. Do not forget I have got my trying moments too. During COVID remember my mom passed on. Politics? I was backlashed. Marriage, remember? Somebody now said you will lose your children. I think that is too much.”
She added that she reached out to Aderounmu’s brother after her death but didn’t get any response from him. “I sent a message to that guy. He saw it. He didn't reply. I said I’m so sorry. I didn't know anything about your sister.”