Toyin Abraham has thrown petrol on an already hot Nollywood rivalry after announcing her new cinema film Bestie for December 16, five days after Funke Akindele’s The Four: No One Fights Alone opens on December 11. Fans of Funke immediately accused her of copying. Toyin answered by calling herself the greatest of all time.
Funke dropped a fresh promo for The Four on Saturday, September 5.
“In a time when friendship feels fragile, these four women choose to hold on to each other. But when life truly tests that bond, will they still choose each other? Waje, Bisola, Chioma and I are THE FOUR.”
Toyin had announced Bestie a day earlier, on September 4. The concept video and the December date were enough for some Funke supporters to scream copycat.
“Toyin Abraham is such a copycat, and I know she did it intentionally so that she can be dragged,” one user wrote.
Toyin’s camp hit back. Some pointed out she shot her London video on August 7 or 8, while Funke’s earlier drop was August 10.
“People saying she copied Funke Akindele. Bring out the Funke Akindele video she copied?” one defender asked.
Then Toyin made it personal. Quoting a fan who wrote, “They should keep wailing, there can only be one world best,” she posted:
“I am the greatest of all time in the movie industry.”
Reports framed her stance as standing her ground amid backlash over a trailer moment where she changes into a goat. The GOAT line is now the war cry.
Funke did not name Toyin, but she still poured fuel by reposting a fan’s “pace setter” comment while comparisons raged, then blocking an X user who criticised her. Toyin followed that same user. Fans read it as shade without a caption.
The two women have been measured against each other for years. Toyin once admitted they used to be seen as rivals and that the fight got dirty enough for both to “splash dirt and dust.” She later called Funke the winner after A Tribe Called Judah smashed the box office and prayed for her success. That peace did not survive two December dates sitting five days apart.