Laide Bakare Rejects Eniola Badmus Apology as ‘Fake’ — While Badmus Stands Her Ground on Tinubu Support
The olive branch has been thrown back. Days after Nollywood actress Eniola Badmus issued a public apology to her colleague Laide Bakare over a viral podcast moment, Bakare has poured cold water on the gesture, branding it a “Fake Apology” in a dismissive Instagram response that has sent fans back to the trenches of one of Nollywood’s most talked-about feuds.
The rejection landed on Thursday, October 22, and within hours it had become the latest chapter in a saga that began with a hiss. Meanwhile, the same podcast appearance that triggered the drama has produced a second controversy: Badmus has come out swinging in defence of her support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, declaring that her political loyalty is the real reason she keeps getting attacked online.
It is, by any measure, a bruising week for the actress. And for an industry that lives as much on social media as it does on screen, every move is being watched.
The Podcast Moment That Started It All
The trouble began during Badmus’s appearance on Curiosity Made Me Ask, the podcast hosted by Nigerian comedian and content creator Isbae U. In a clip that has since gone viral, the host mentioned Laide Bakare as one of his favourite actresses. Badmus’s response, a visible hiss and a sudden change in facial expression, said more than words could have. Social media users seized on the moment instantly, interpreting the reaction as contempt and reviving conversations about the long-standing tension between the two actresses.
The clip spread across X, Instagram and TikTok within hours. Comment sections filled with divided opinion. Some fans defended Badmus, arguing that a fleeting facial expression was being over-analysed. Others insisted the hiss was unmistakable and unprofessional, especially given the history between the two women. By the time the full weight of the backlash had landed, an apology seemed inevitable.
Badmus Says Sorry: “I Choose Peace”
That apology arrived on Tuesday, October 20, in a statement Badmus shared on her Instagram page. Striking a reflective tone, the actress admitted that her reaction during the interview may have looked worse than she intended.
“On reflection, I realise my reaction when Laide Bakare’s name was mentioned during my recent interview could have come across as dismissive, and for that, I sincerely apologise,” she wrote.
Addressing Bakare directly, she continued: “Laide, whatever our differences, I choose peace and I genuinely wish you well.”
Badmus framed the moment as part of a broader journey of personal growth. “We’re all growing, learning and becoming better versions of ourselves. Sometimes maturity is simply knowing when to let go and move forward,” she stated, before closing with a Yoruba plea for forgiveness: “Joo maa binu. No negativity. No grudges. Let love lead and peace reigns.”
The statement was widely reported across entertainment media and initially drew a cautiously positive response from sections of the public, with some fans praising Badmus for taking responsibility. But one person, it seems, was not moved.
Bakare’s Verdict: “Fake Apology”
Laide Bakare’s response was characteristically blunt. Taking to Instagram on Thursday, she dismissed Badmus’s statement in two words: “Fake Apology.”
The terse rejection is the latest strike in what has become an increasingly public exchange. Earlier in the week, before Badmus’s apology had even been published, Bakare had already gone on the offensive in an Instagram post, accusing her colleague of repeatedly attempting to damage her reputation in public despite previous warnings. In that post, Bakare also described Badmus as ungrateful, claiming she had played an important role in helping her establish herself in the entertainment industry.
“Honestly, you’re an ingrate, I won’t let this slide,” Bakare wrote, according to reports of the post, setting a tone that made the subsequent rejection of the apology feel less like a surprise and more like a continuation.
The “Fake Apology” dismissal has split fans down the middle. Supporters of Bakare argue that she is right to be suspicious, pointing to the long trail of public clashes between the pair. Supporters of Badmus counter that no apology would ever have been good enough, and that Bakare is keeping a grudge alive for attention. As of Thursday evening, neither actress had issued a further statement.
A History of Public Clashes
To understand why a two-second hiss detonated the way it did, you have to know the backstory. Badmus and Bakare are both established figures in the Yoruba movie industry, with careers that have run in parallel for years. But their relationship has been punctuated by public friction.
The most cited flashpoint came in March 2024, when Badmus appeared to take a swipe at Bakare’s outfit at the latter’s book launch. Bakare had attended the event in a white outfit with an orange cape, a look that attracted mixed reactions online. Many observers read Badmus’s subsequent social media post as a mockery of the outfit, and Bakare said she was hurt by it, noting that she had considered Badmus a childhood friend from their days at the University of Ibadan.
That detail, that the two women go back to their university days, is what gives the feud its sting. This is not a beef between strangers. It is a falling-out between people who once counted each other as friends, playing out in public, and every new incident is read through the lens of everything that came before.
Their relationship has also been marked by exchanges on social media and confrontations at public events, according to reports, creating a cycle in which each attempted reconciliation is undone by the next viral moment. The podcast hiss was, in that sense, less a new wound than a reopened one.
“They Come At Me Because I Support Tinubu”
Running parallel to the Bakare drama is the second controversy from the same podcast appearance, and this one is arguably bigger. During her conversation with Isbae U, Badmus also mounted a full-throated defence of her continued support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying her political stance is the reason some Nigerians criticise her.
According to Naija News, which reported the remarks on Thursday, Badmus told the host that the criticism she receives is largely connected to her decision to stand by the president, adding that she remains committed to him despite the negative reactions.
“The only reason why they come at me is just because of my support for the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. And whether you like it or not, on that mandate, me, Eniola Badmus, is still standing,” she said. “Everybody has the right to do whatever they want. It’s called democracy. Follow whoever you want to follow, I don’t criticize no one for following whoever.”
Badmus stressed that she does not condemn people for supporting politicians different from the ones she believes in, insisting that everyone should be free to make their own political decisions without being attacked for them.
The remarks are a reminder that Badmus’s public image has been polarised well beyond the Bakare feud. Her open alignment with the president has made her a lightning rod in Nigeria’s deeply divided political conversation, where celebrities who declare for one side are routinely subjected to organised trolling from the other. Whether her political stance is truly “the only reason” for the criticism she receives, as she claims, or one factor among several, including her very public spats, is a question her critics will keep debating.
Fans Are Split, As Usual
The reaction online has been everything you would expect from a Nollywood feud in the age of screenshots. On one side are those who believe Bakare is standing her ground with justification. They point to the pattern: the book launch dig, the podcast hiss, years of pointed silence. To them, “Fake Apology” is not pettiness but honesty, a refusal to perform reconciliation for the cameras when the wounds are still open.
On the other side are those who think the feud has run its course and that Bakare is now the one keeping it alive. They argue that Badmus did what public figures are endlessly asked to do: she acknowledged the moment, apologised without excuses, and asked for peace. What more, they ask, could she possibly have said that would have been accepted?
There is also a third, quieter camp: industry watchers who are tired of the whole cycle and would rather talk about the work. Both actresses are veterans with decades of credits, yet their names trend most reliably when they are trending against each other. It is a dynamic that flatters neither career, and it is one that both women, by their own telling, claim to want to leave behind.
What Happens Next
With Bakare’s “Fake Apology” response now public, the ball is back in Badmus’s court. She could respond, escalate, or, most likely given the fatigue in the comment sections, let the news cycle move on. The actress has not yet commented on the rejection.
The broader lesson of the week may be about the unforgiving arithmetic of the viral age. A podcast guest’s two-second facial expression, captured on camera and clipped out of context, has generated a week of headlines, a formal apology, a public rejection, and a political controversy, all without a single film being discussed.
For Badmus, the coming days will test whether her call for peace can survive a rejection. For Bakare, the question is whether “fake” was a full stop or an opening shot. And for everyone watching, the Nollywood drama, as ever, continues to write itself.
Source: Naija News, Vanguard, Modern Ghana, The Naija Wide, DailyMirror Nigeria, Tori.ng.