Contentious Following the outrage from a viral video in which he seemed to confess to having sex with a 15-year-old virgin girl, Nigerian artist Speed Darlington has issued an apology to his fans.
The artist detailed in disturbing detail a ten-year-old interaction with a teenage girl in the original video, which has since been widely denounced on social media. This caused immediate outrage and prompted calls for judicial action.
However, Speed Darlington asserted in a follow-up video on his Instagram page on Wednesday that the widely shared story was only a publicity gimmick designed to promote his most recent album.
He also expressed regret to his followers and anybody else who could have been offended by the video.
I am an artist, and all of my fans were furious after I posted a video in which I discussed having sex with a 15-year-old. I’m hungry for controversy. You won’t get booked if you’re not trending. Easy! If it’s not popular, no one is booking it.
“I just released a new song. F#ck this, f#ck that is what the song is about. My genre is this. I’m not a Christian musician. I needed f#ck materials to promote my music when I released it. I was acting in that manner. Avoid giving it more like than it should have.
“It’s okay if some of you feel insulted. I’m sorry,” he said.
The incident, which he narrated in Igbo, also prompted swift reactions from the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.
