Singer Simi’s old tweets about kids spark major uproar
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Nigerian singer Simisola Bolatito Kosoko, popularly known as Simi, is facing intense backlash after old tweets resurfaced, with many interpreting them as romanticizing or inappropriately describing interactions with children.
The posts in question, dug up by netizens, include references to a four-year-old boy she claimed had a crush on her—to the point of nearly “locking lips”—and another describing a 16-year-old boy as so attractive that she “couldn’t feel her legs.” One tweet even jokingly wished for her future husband to be four years old.
One tweet from her former handle @SympLySimi, posted on March 14, 2012, reads: “David has a crush on me. He kips comn close; actin lik he wana lock lips n den he puts his head on my lap. Shd I giv him a chance? P.S: Hes 4.”
Another from February 17, 2012, states: “Ok so dis 4 year old kid is lying next to me……practically almost kissing me cos he’s gazing in2 my fone blink I’m nt abt 2brk d boys heart.”
These and similar posts date between 2012 and 2015.
In a statement shared on Sunday, the 37-year-old singer addressed the controversy directly. She emphasized that she was not famous at the time and accused critics of forming a “faceless mob” twisting her words.
“I haven’t been on Twitter today – but someone brought a few of my old tweets to my attention, and I can’t not address it. 14 years ago, I was 23, so I was definitely not a child. I’m not here to make excuses because I don’t have anything to make excuses for. What I can’t let anyone do is twist my story to fit false narratives.
“In 2012, I lived and helped out at my mom’s daycare while I was hustling my music. I tweeted everything that happened in my life, as we all did at the time. Kids can be mischievous. If a child did something I found funny, I tweeted about it. Kids are cute and lovable. I want to hug, kiss and cuddle them. I tweet about it. Nothing I tweeted was from perversion,” Simi said.
She continued: “I was not famous, so maybe if I was, I would have understood that anything is open to whatever interpretation, including being used falsely by a faceless mob. I’ve never been depraved in my life. You can retweet all the tweets in the world about me loudly crushing on people I admire/d. Or being a cheeky young woman. I wasn’t trying to hide it, because I don’t have anything to hide.”
The controversy erupted amid Simi’s recent comments on sexual violence and rape culture, leading to accusations of hypocrisy and renewed scrutiny of her past online activity.
