Nollywood actress Opeyemi Aiyeola has spoken out in a candid Instagram Live session, addressing her recent online altercation with fellow actress Eniola Badmus over a comment that she described as insensitive and inappropriate.
The dispute began after Badmus commented on Aiyeola’s hair loss in a public Instagram post, writing, “Ope, where is your front hair?”—a remark that sparked outrage from Aiyeola and her fans. Although Badmus later issued an apology, Aiyeola said she found it insincere and deleted it, describing it as “gaslighting.”
“I am not doing this live stream because of Eniola Badmus’ apology,” Aiyeola said. “Her comment didn’t sit well with me. You can’t hurt me and still want to control how I react.”
Aiyeola made it clear that her frustration was less about the content of the comment and more about the public platform on which it was made. She explained that she and Badmus were not close enough to engage in such banter, and that the public nature of the remark—especially on a “toxic” platform like social media—was hurtful.
“We are not banter mates,” she stated. “We’ve known each other for over 20 years but have never been close. We’ve never even sat down to talk deeply or commented on each other’s social media posts.”
She further expressed disappointment that Badmus, who has herself been a victim of online body-shaming, should have known better than to make such a comment publicly.
Aiyeola also appealed to her fans to refrain from escalating the situation, revealing that some had sent threatening messages on her behalf. “Nobody should fight my fight,” she said. “I don’t want any social media war. I was hurt, I spoke from pain, but I’m not building any team. Life can take unexpected turns—we may even become close someday.”
The actress concluded by explaining that she had deleted her original post to stop the situation from spiraling further, emphasizing that her decision had nothing to do with Badmus’ apology.
