Award-winning Nigerian musician Tiwa Savage has courageously shared the emotional toll she endured after the leak of her private sex tape in 2021. Speaking candidly about the traumatic event in a recent interview, Savage expressed how deeply hurt she was by the entire experience, emphasizing that she was a victim of circumstances beyond her control.
“I was hurt, and it is okay for me to say, I was hurt, I was a victim, it happened to me,” Savage said, acknowledging that the scandal was not only shocking but also life-changing. The intimate video, which quickly gained attention online, was allegedly leaked by her then-boyfriend. Initially, he claimed the video was sent out by accident, but Savage later discovered it was a calculated act.
“He was my boyfriend. I thought we were in a relationship and then I am hearing later that it was a bet,” Savage recalled, sharing the betrayal she felt. The singer has since turned the painful experience into fuel for her music, addressing the situation in her hit song “Loaded.”
While dealing with the overwhelming backlash, Savage admitted that at first, she tried to downplay her emotions, pretending the incident didn’t hurt her. However, in hindsight, she recognized that she hadn’t truly dealt with the pain at the time.
“I feel like, if I make fun of it, and I pretend like it is not really getting to me, that’s how I will deal with it. But in hindsight, did I really deal with it? I do not think so. Now I am living in the truth, in my truth, and admitting to myself that, yo, that shit hurt me,” she confessed.
The scandal saw her subjected to intense criticism, with many mocking her, while others took the opportunity to target her as a bad mother, involving her young son in the discussion. Savage, however, chose not to let this setback end her career.
Despite the severe backlash, the musician remained steadfast in her pursuit of her craft.
“They thought it was just dirty. And I’m like, I know what some of you guys do is even worse than this, but I was a scapegoat. And that was painful for me, man. It was really painful because they brought my son into it and said I was unfit,” she explained.
