Nigerian singer and songwriter, Simisola Kosoko, popularly known as Simi, has responded to backlash over old social media posts that resurfaced after she spoke against rape.
The controversy followed renewed online debates triggered by the Mirabel TikToker case.
Simi had stated that men should stop raping women and that rapists should be castrated.
She added that almost every woman she knows has been sexually assaulted.
Days later, screenshots of tweets she made between 2012 and 2013 began circulating online.
Addressing the issue on Sunday, she wrote, “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.”
Simi explained that the posts were made in 2012 while she lived with her mother and helped at her daycare centre.
“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,” she stated.
She said the tweets reflected casual observations about children at the daycare.
“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 wrote.
Among the posts widely shared was a November 12, 2013 tweet that read, “I wonder if anyone’s ever used breast milk to bake cake before.”
Other resurfaced tweets included, “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 read, “love to kiss d kids at my mum’s daycare – they’re super adorable and I’m crazy abt ’em.”
A further post stated, “Why this 4yr old boy tryna put hand inside ma shet????? Ogbeni wash it oh!”
Simi insisted the remarks were never intended to suggest anything inappropriate.
“What I can’t let anyone do is twist my story to fit false narratives,” she said.
She disclosed that some of the posts had been deleted due to the sensitivity of the matter.
“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,” she added.
