Simi Reaffirms Anti-Rape Stance Amid Online Bullying

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Summary: Nigerian singer Simi has reaffirmed her anti-rape stance, standing by her call to end sexual violence. She also addressed online backlash over old tweets and received support from women on X.

Nigerian singer Simi has reaffirmed her stance against sexual violence, stating that she stands firmly by her call for an end to rape. The singer also addressed online backlash over resurfaced old tweets, maintaining that her position against sexual assault remains unchanged.

In a post shared on X, the Afrobeats artist said she felt compelled to address the controversy after being alerted to some tweets from 14 years ago. Addressing the resurfaced posts from 2012, Simi explained that at the time she was 23 years old and living with her mother while helping at her daycare as she pursued her music career. She said she frequently tweeted about her daily life, including humorous or affectionate comments about children at the daycare.

“Nothing I tweeted was from perversion,” she stated, adding that her posts were lighthearted reflections of her experiences at the time. 

“I’ve never been depraved in my life. You can retweet all the tweets in the world about me loudly crushing on people I admired. Or being a cheeky young woman. I wasn’t trying to hide it, because I don’t have anything to hide.” 

Simi also revealed that although her team has been deleting some of the old tweets due to the sensitivity of the matter for her family, she initially did not want them removed. She maintained that her advocacy against sexual assault is longstanding.

“IIt’s not a costume I’m wearing, it’s who I am,” she said. “I said stop raping women. I stand by it.”

The backlash follows Simi’s recent comments condemning sexual violence. In an earlier post, she expressed outrage over persistent cases of rape and called for severe punishment for rapists. She also urged men to hold other men accountable rather than create safe spaces for harmful behaviour or distance themselves from the issue. Her comments came after a TikTok content creator, Mirabel, reported that she was raped in her apartment on February 15 after refusing to give a man her phone number.

Following Simi’s statement, she faced intense online harassment and bullying, with male Twitter users spreading misinformation about her and her family and resurfacing old tweets which they claimed were inappropriate.

Despite the backlash, many women on X have publicly expressed solidarity with the singer, sharing supportive messages and praising her for speaking out against sexual violence.

User @_sheisjennifer wrote: “Dear @SympLySimi. I hope you’re holding up fine. Just wanted to let you know you’re beautiful, strong and deserving of respect and peace. Don’t let the bullies drive you off this app, there are so many of us who see, value and stand with you. With care and support, Jennifer.”

Another user, @Aridunu_jones, posted: “Thanks @SympLySimi for speaking out and supporting women. Love you down my queen.”

A Chinese feminist user, @ChangS69585, wrote in translation that no one would pretend to oppose rape and sexual violence against women for attention, adding that violence against women affects all women collectively and that every woman has a responsibility to stand against it.

User @Miss_Iloka also voiced support, writing: “I believe you. You will not be bullied off this app when we have women beaters and the likes actively tweeting on this app.”