Nigerian singer Simi has finally responded after a tweet she posted back in 2012 suddenly resurfaced and set social media on fire.
The old post, dated March 14, 2012, talked about a four-year-old boy named David, whom she described as having a crush on her.
In the now-deleted tweet, she playfully narrated how the child kept coming close, seeming like he wanted a kiss, before resting his head on her lap. She wrapped it up with a cheeky question about whether she should “give him a chance,” reminding followers that he was just four.
The tweet read, “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.”
Once the post made its way back online, reactions were swift and divided. While some dismissed it as an old joke taken out of context, others accused the singer of sexualising a minor and even demanded an investigation.
Late Sunday, Simi took to her X page to address the controversy head-on. According to her, she hadn’t even been online when the issue began trending.
“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.
She explained that she was 23 years old at the time and living at her mother’s daycare centre while chasing her music dreams. Back then, she said, Twitter was like an open diary where she shared everyday moments, including funny interactions with children around her.
“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.
“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.
“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 added that although members of her team have begun taking down some old tweets due to the emotional toll on her family, it wasn’t her initial wish to erase them.
Throughout her statement, the singer maintained that her comments from 2012 were innocent and lighthearted, not suggestive.
She firmly rejected narratives attempting to portray her as immoral, stressing that she has consistently used her platform to condemn rape and sexual assault.
For now, the conversation continues to rage online, with some standing by her explanation and others holding on to their criticism. As with many social media storms, interpretation seems to depend on which side of the timeline you’re standing.
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