Antar Laniyan Faces Backlash for Comments on Tinubu

Veteran Nollywood actor Antar Laniyan has faced backlash after a video resurfaced from an episode of the African A-List podcast, where he stated he would walk away from a friend who criticized President Bola Tinubu in his presence. Laniyan explained that he would not engage in discussions attacking the president, asserting that Tinubu was not the person his friend described and that he was not obligated to share the friend's opinion.

He emphasized that even if Tinubu had personally assisted him, he would still choose to leave rather than partake in the criticism. This controversy followed fellow actor Yinka Quadri's appearance on the same podcast, where he expressed support for Tinubu’s re-election, citing the president's alleged contributions to entertainers, including a $25,000 donation for repatriating actress Moji Olaiya’s remains in 2017.

Several Yoruba actors had endorsed Tinubu in 2022, but some later expressed feelings of abandonment post-campaign. At the time of reporting, Laniyan had not publicly responded to the criticism.