Nigerian singer Simi has spoken out after facing intense criticism online over old tweets that recently resurfaced, insisting her comments were misunderstood and taken out of context.
The renewed controversy followed her strong stance against sexual violence on X, where she declared that rapists deserve to be “castrated and burnt alive.” Her statement came amid public outrage surrounding claims by a TikToker, Mirabel, who alleged she was assaulted — allegations that later became the subject of conflicting reports.
As the debate unfolded, social media users began sharing screenshots of Simi’s posts from 2012, sparking fresh backlash. Some of the tweets referenced playful interactions with a young child at the time, which critics interpreted negatively.
Responding in a lengthy post, the Duduke singer said the reactions forced her to clarify the situation, stressing that the tweets were never made with any harmful or inappropriate 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,” she wrote.
“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.”
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Simi explained that at the time, she was living with her mother and helping to run a daycare centre while working to build her music career. According to her, social media then served as a space to casually share everyday experiences, without any expectation that those posts could be scrutinised years later.
“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,” she stated.
The singer added that she had always been vocal against sexual abuse and rejected claims that her past posts suggested otherwise.
“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.”
Prompt News reports Simi also revealed that some of her old tweets were being deleted by her team to protect her family from unnecessary scrutiny, even though she initially resisted the idea.
“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,” she concluded.
