Nigerian singer Simisola Bolatito Kosoko, popularly known as Simi, has clapped back at critics after controversial tweets she made over a decade ago resurfaced online, igniting outrage across social media.
The old posts, made between 2012 and 2015 when she was in her early twenties, were dug up by Nigerians on X in the wake of the controversy surrounding TikToker Mirabel’s false rape allegation.
Screenshots of the tweets, some describing playful interactions with children at her mother’s daycare, quickly went viral.
One of the most disturbing resurfaced tweets read, “This 4 years old boy’s D is good. I’m not sorry.”
Another post from March 14, 2012 stated, “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.”
On February 17, 2012, she wrote, “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.”
She also tweeted on June 1, 2013, “I love to kiss d kids at my mum’s daycare – they’re super adorable and I’m crazy about ‘em.”
In another post dated October 28, 2015, she wrote, “I think I’m slightly obsessed with this child. instagram.com/p/9YyGF3n8Zm/.”
As backlash mounted, the 37-year-old singer broke her silence on Sunday night, insisting her words were never rooted in sexual intent.
“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 further accused her critics of weaponising old posts against her.
“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.”
Amid the storm, Simi confirmed that some of the tweets had been deleted by her team, citing the emotional toll on her family.
“My team has been deleting some of my tweets because of how sensitive it is for my family. To be honest, I did not want to. I have always spoken against rape and sexual assault even before you knew I existed.
“It’s not a costume I’m wearing, it’s who I am. I’ve never claimed to be perfect. I’ve never claimed to know everything. I said stop raping women. I stand by it,” said Simi.
While supporters insist the posts were taken out of context, critics argue that the language used, even in jest, crossed a line.
