Veteran Nollywood actress and award-winning filmmaker Funke Akindele has spoken out about her painful experiences with cyberbullying, revealing how vicious online attacks pushed her to a breaking point and how therapy helped her heal.
Speaking during the WithChude Live event in Lagos, the Jenifa’s Diary star got candid about the emotional toll of being constantly criticized on social media, especially regarding her personal life and marriages.
“There was a video on social media where some women mocked me for not having a husband. My God,” she shared. “I see all the insults on social media. I see all the posts saying how I left one husband for another. I cried, cried, and cried.”
The 47-year-old said the relentless negativity eventually became too much to handle alone. Recognizing the impact on her mental health, she decided to seek professional help.
“I told myself, ‘You need to speak to someone about this. You cannot continue like this.’ I reached out, and I started speaking. After then, I felt better,” she revealed. “Things I could not tell people out there, I spoke to my therapist, and I got better.”
Akindele used her experience to highlight the importance of mental health awareness, urging others facing similar challenges not to suffer in silence.
“I want to advise everyone out there—speak up. It is very important. You can’t take everything. I’m a very strong person now. I have the strength to face any challenge life throws at me.”
Turning pain into purpose, the record-breaking filmmaker said she didn’t just heal—she channeled the experience into her art, using her journey as inspiration for a movie.
“After the blackmailing, I got tougher. I began writing about my life. Even though I almost lost it mentally, I used the mockery to create a film,” she said.
