Beauty entrepreneur and former beauty queen, Dabota Lawson, has spoken about her recent fallout with beauty entrepreneur and reality TV personality Adeola Adeyemi, popularly known as Diiadem.
Lawson, in a lengthy social media post, said some people advised her not to respond to the controversy because of the possible impact on her brand and public image.
However, she maintained that protecting her reputation did not mean she should remain silent in the face of what she described as public disrespect.
She said she was particularly hurt that someone she regarded as a friend allegedly shared private conversations publicly, selectively posted screenshots and presented a version of events she believed was intended to embarrass her.
“Love is many things, but in my world, love is not foolishness,” Lawson wrote.
She acknowledged that leadership requires restraint, but insisted that there were limits to what she was willing to tolerate.
“I DID. And I still believe leadership does not mean tolerating disrespect,” she said, referring to advice that she should have ignored the situation for the sake of her brand.
Prompt News reports Lawson said she would respond whenever someone publicly attacked her reputation, particularly when she believed the person had failed to clearly explain what she had done wrong.
“If someone I considered a friend chooses to post private conversations publicly, selectively present screenshots or create a narrative intended to embarrass me, while being unable to state what I have actually done to them clearly, I will address it,” she stated.
“You cannot provoke someone and then dictate how they should respond. You cannot throw a bomb and expect a feather in return.”
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The former beauty queen added that while she could tolerate certain disagreements privately, she had a firm boundary when it came to public humiliation.
“People have different boundaries, and one of mine is PUBLIC DISRESPECT. I can take a lot behind closed doors, but in PUBLIC ???? NO NO NO,” she said.
Lawson also addressed comments advising her to avoid friendships in Lagos, arguing that her experiences had not been entirely negative.
She said she had developed meaningful friendships in the city and cited her long-standing relationships with Veezee and another close associate as examples.
“I love deeply. I love friendship. I love family. I love celebrating the people I care about loudly and wholeheartedly because that is how I was raised,” she wrote.
“People saying ‘avoid Lagos friendships’ are probably speaking from their own experiences or trauma, but I can boldly say I’ve made some really great friends in Lagos who have been God-sent.”
Lawson said some of her friendships had lasted between 16 and 30 years and had continued to bring value to her life.
She concluded by insisting that having boundaries did not require justification and that she had no regrets about defending herself.
“I do not need to justify having boundaries. I do not need to justify defending my name, and I have no regrets,” she said.
“No version of love, friendship or loyalty requires me to accept bullshit quietly.”
She ended her post by declaring, “So, that being said, today is a good day.”
