‘I’m Done Trying To Reconcile with Basketmouth’ — AY

Ace comedian, Ayodeji Makun, also known as AY, has officially given up on any hopes of reconciling with his colleague, Basketmouth.

The longstanding feud between the two comedians has spanned a staggering 17 years.

AY recently disclosed that the root of their disagreement stemmed from an N30,000 performance fee.

According to AY, the issue began in 2006 when Basketmouth failed to honor their agreement and pay him the agreed-upon amount for standing in for him at an event.

However, Basketmouth has vehemently denied ever being friends with AY and has dismissed many of the claims made by AY during his interview with Chude Jideonwo as falsehoods.

Despite AY’s public declaration of Basketmouth as his “guy” during his Easter Sunday show in London in April 2023, he asserted that unfortunately, the gesture did not lead to a reconciliation between the two comedians.

AY, in a recent interview with Teju Babyface, revealed that he had diligently tried to mend his relationship with Basketmouth over the years.

However, he has decided to abandon any hopes of reconciliation and has intended to hold onto his grudge indefinitely.

Notably, AY explained his reconciliation attempts were known to senior colleagues in the comedy industry.

Despite their awareness, he stated that they advised him to step back and cease his efforts when Basketmouth showed no willingness to reconcile.

He said:

“The bros [senior colleagues in the comedy industry] knew [about my beef with Basketmouth] and at some point in time, they had to ask me to slow down. They were like: ‘You’re doing too much. You are putting in too much to make this thing work. Friendship is not by force.

“I was believing that ‘No, this can work’. Even in my last stand-up comedy, I had to go on stage and I did another routine ‘My guy. How’s my guy? This is my guy. If you see this guy, tell him he’s my guy.’ And the following morning, every where exploded again. ‘We are not friends. We are not that. We are not this.

“So, for me now, I’m not pushing anything anymore. As I’m here now as AY if I have to go to my grave without sitting with any of these guys to say ‘hello, ‘hi,’ I will be happy.”