Funke Akindele Under Fire Over Birthday Celebration Amid Ogogo’s Burial
Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele, has come under heavy criticism from a section of Nigerians after she publicly celebrated her 49th birthday on Monday, August 24, 2026, the very day veteran Yoruba actor Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, was laid to rest in Ilaro, Ogun State.
Ogogo, who was 66 years old, died on Sunday, August 23, after a battle with stage-four cancer, a development that triggered widespread mourning across Nollywood and the broader Yoruba film industry. Several prominent actors, including Yinka Quadri, Jide Kosoko and Toyosi Adesanya, travelled to Ilaro to attend his burial, which was conducted according to Islamic rites, underscoring how significant his passing was to the industry.
On the same day, Akindele, who was born on August 24, 1977, took to social media to share a series of glamorous birthday photographs alongside a message expressing gratitude to God for another year of life. In her post, she thanked God for His faithfulness through the different seasons of her life and prayed that her journey would continue to inspire others to believe and keep pushing forward.
The timing of the celebration, however, did not sit well with several social media users, who accused the actress of insensitivity and failing to “read the room” given the industry-wide grief surrounding Ogogo’s burial that same day. Critics argued that a more subdued approach would have been more appropriate, with some directly calling her out and describing the post as disrespectful to a senior colleague.
Not everyone joined in the criticism, though. A number of Akindele’s supporters pushed back, noting that she had already shared a condolence message following news of Ogogo’s death a day earlier, and argued that life and personal milestones should not be expected to pause indefinitely because of a public figure’s passing. Some described the backlash as excessive, insisting that grieving one person’s death should not obligate everyone else, including public figures, to suspend their own celebrations.
The contrasting online reactions have sparked a broader conversation about how celebrities and public figures should navigate personal milestones during periods of collective mourning within the entertainment industry, with opinions sharply divided between those calling for more sensitivity and those defending an individual’s right to celebrate their own life regardless of external events.
As of the time of filing this report, Funke Akindele had not issued any direct response to the criticism trailing her birthday post, and it remains unclear whether she intends to address the backlash further. Meanwhile, tributes have continued to pour in for Ogogo, whose decades-long contribution to the Yoruba film industry has been widely celebrated following his death and burial.
The debate continues to trend across social media platforms, with many Nigerians weighing in on both sides of the argument as the entertainment industry continues to mourn the loss of one of its veteran actors.
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