I WAS NOT RAPED, SAYS FUNKE AKINDELE

Funke Akindele
'Many bad things have been written about me, but this one is written with such malice and deliberate intent to hurt that I cannot ignore it. You need to read the reports; it was written in such a way that you would know the writer is cooking up lies. My lawyer has written them, I am taking the paper to court,' these were the words of Funke Akindele at her new residence in the heart of Ikeja.

A soft-sell magazine had written that Funke Akindele was allegedly raped during a robbery incident on location of Omo Ghetto (part two) and that she had become so arrogant that she slaps people at will on location.

But in refuting the story, Funke and her management company, Stingomania Entertainment, said the story was not true and that the writer wrote with deliberately intent to malign the star.

'The robbery took place on location where lots of people were present, and if I were raped the people in the house next to the hotel, who were looking at us while the robbery was going on, would have known. It would have been a common knowledge, I don't know why a newspaper reporter would just sit down and fabricate such a lie,' Funke said.

Chief Executive Officer of Stingomania Entertainment, Ope Banwo, said a letter had been written and sent to the magazine through its lawyer and the magazine's response would determine the next step. 'This impunity against celebrities cannot continue, it has to stop,' he said.

Meanwhile, Funke has concluded work on The Return of Jenifa, a movie she said would dwarf whatever height Jenifa reached. 'You need to see The Return of Jenifa,' she said after showing this reporter a promo copy. 'We didn't spare cost or efforts, this project will make my past jobs look like child's play.' With sparkling location shots that had not been seen in her previous works, the actress, who is a Lagos indigene, might be aiming at another box office.

The movie would be in the cinemas from August, but before that Funke would be hosting friends, fans and corporate stakeholders to a dinner later this month to unveil her plans for 2011 and appreciate those who have stood by her.