‘Faceless mob twisting my story’- Simi fires at critics over resurfaced tweets

Nigerian singer and songwriter Simisola Kosoko, popularly known as Simi, has responded to renewed controversy over some of her old tweets, insisting that the comments were misinterpreted and unrelated to any improper conduct.

The singer’s statement follows online discussions that resurfaced after she spoke out against rape amid conversations triggered by the Mirabel TikToker case, which recently gained traction on social media.

“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 wrote on Sunday.

She explained that the posts, dating back to 2012, were made at a time when she was living with her mother and helping at her mother’s daycare while building her music career.

“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 said.

Simi added that the tweets reflected casual observations about the 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 said.

She emphasised that she would not allow her past comments to be “twisted” to fit false narratives.

“What I can’t let anyone do is twist my story to fit false narratives,” Simi wrote.

Some posts have since been deleted, she disclosed, due to the sensitivity of the situation for her family.

“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 said.

Among the widely circulated posts were tweets dating from 2012 to 2013, including humorous observations and childhood anecdotes from her time at the daycare. She maintained that none of the posts were intended to suggest anything inappropriate.

“I’ve never been depraved in my life,” she added.

Reiterating her stance on sexual violence, Simi said her recent comments calling for men to stop raping women are consistent with her long-held beliefs.

“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 said.