By Deborah Nnamdi
Nigerian Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage has revisited the backlash she faced after her private video was leaked in 2021, describing the experience as deeply unfair and emotionally taxing.
In a recent interview, the award-winning singer said she was vilified rather than supported, particularly by influential voices in Western entertainment circles.
“I was bashed for it,” Savage recalled. “A lot of people from America and the UK thought I was just capping, like I was looking for sympathy.”
She stressed that the criticism went beyond casual social media users. “It wasn’t just regular people. People with platforms, people in positions of influence, they were quite horrible,” she said.
According to her, some critics even suggested she deliberately allowed the video to circulate in order to stay relevant as she grew older in the music industry. “They blamed me,” she said.
Expressing frustration at such assumptions, Savage rejected the narrative. “If I had done it intentionally, trust me, I would have made it a full production. I would have had better lighting, better lingerie, and my facial expression would have been on point,” she quipped.
Despite the ordeal, Tiwa Savage has continued to dominate the Afrobeats scene, cementing her place as one of Africa’s most celebrated performers.
