Genevieve Nnaji isn't my enemy; our fans fueled our alleged feud for decades

Nigerian actress and singer Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has addressed long-standing claims of a feud between herself and fellow actress Genevieve Nnaji.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that unconfirmed reports had, for years, suggested the actresses were locked in a prolonged rivalry before they appeared together in the 2010 film “Ije: The Journey.”

Many fans believed the pair shared an unspoken rivalry, despite having previously starred together in the 2003 movie “Blood Sisters”, which boosted their popularity among Nigerian audiences and Nollywood lovers worldwide.

This newspaper reported that, contrary to the widely held perception, Nnaji made a rare public appearance in 2018 when she attended Jalade-Ekeinde’s 40th birthday celebration, organised by her husband, Matthew Ekeinde.

Jalade-Ekeinde returned the gesture in 2019 when Genevieve also turned 40.

However, the 47-year-old actress set the record straight during an interview on Yanga FM, which was posted on YouTube on Wednesday.

The mother of four maintained that there had never been any bad blood between them.

Explaining how the perceived rivalry emerged, she said: “You know, it’s the same thing they do with all these music stars now. That was how it started back then. All these Wizkid and Davido that have taken things to another level—we were the first ones. Honestly, they started the quarrel before we even knew we were supposed to be quarrelling, so we had to catch up with it. But there was no quarrel.

“We were young, and you know how the industry is. Everyone is just doing their own thing. You know how the industry works—they pitch you against another person, saying this one is the hottest girl, that one is the hottest girl. This kind of tension naturally arises, but people tend to read more into it than is warranted. People interpreted it as something else, but me—where would you even see me quarrelling?”

Friendship

Jalade-Ekeinde further stated that actors are not necessarily friends.

She added that she and Nnaji are on good terms, noting that she is not the type of person who engages in quarrels.

“I’ve never been someone you can sit down and quarrel with. I’m hardly around, and she’s the same kind of person, so where would the quarrel even come from? We did many films together before Ije. People don’t have to be best friends, but we talked. Behind the scenes, we spoke normally”, she said.

The actress’s clarification on the alleged feud between herself and Nnaji came days after she stated that she could not dance to promote her films, a reference to the new marketing strategies many filmmakers and actors now use to advertise movies in cinemas and on streaming platforms.

This newspaper reported that she remarked ahead of the cinema release of her upcoming film, “Mother’s Love”, scheduled for 6 March.

Jalade-Ekeinde explained that she did not subscribe to such promotional tactics, insisting that dancing should not be used as a marketing strategy for a movie.