By Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe, has revealed the reason behind her public altercation with a Lagos business woman, Omolara Olukotun popularly known as Larrit.
Aigbe, who took to her Instagram stories on Monday, narrated what transpired at the event.
According to the actress, Olukotun was an acquaintance who suddenly became an enemy.
Aigbe claimed that the business woman had severally insulted her on social media despite patronising Larrit’s business and vice versa.
“I was at a friend’s store opening (@rhemmygold) to celebrate with her. Larrit was one of the guests.
“This woman, for reasons best known to her slanders me online at every opportunity she gets. She has done many live videos and posts to this effect. I tried to reach out to her to understand what the issues were, but she chose to ignore me.
“Lara and I are acquaintances. I have patronised her business and she also has done likewise. So I was surprised and confused how she suddenly became an enemy. I sent messages to her on WhatsApp, I called few people close to her to understand why she would decide to become an antagonist, all efforts proved abortive,” the actress wrote.
Aigbe also claimed that Olukotun continued the beef at the event despite several requests from other attendees to stop.
“At the party yesterday, she started with the same energy, throwing words at me, calling me names and being disrespectful. Initially, I kept calm, and didn’t respond to her. People around her appealed to her to stop, yet Lara wouldn’t stop and so decided to stand up for myself and I retaliated with the same energy.
“It became heated and everyone around tried to broker peace, but she still wouldn’t stop. At some point, she tried to throw a bottle at me but it hit a lady sitting in front of her and there was pandemonium. I stepped out to leave in the middle of the brouhaha but my friend pleaded with me to stay including the celebrant. I went back in and she started attacking me verbally again. Eventually, she was taken out of the party, and she left.
“She went overboard with her hate yesterday. The bottle could have harmed someone and it would become a criminal case. This was an unnecessary attack. However, I would like to apologise to fans and family who felt I should have handled the whole situation differently. I’m sorry,” she wrote.
The altercation happened at a star-studded event on Sunday in which Nollywood actresses inlcuding Iyabo Ojo, Eniola Ajao, and Bimbo Thomas were in attendance.
In the videos circulated on social media, the duo got into an argument that escalated after Olukotun threw a bottle at the actress.
Aigbe was later escorted out of the event amidst a crowd by police officers.
