Nigerian music star Tiwa Savage has once again pulled back the curtain on the darker side of the entertainment industry, revealing how she has repeatedly faced pressure to exchange sexual favours for career opportunities.
Speaking during a panel session at Entertainment Week Africa, the award-winning singer said that despite her success, exploitation and objectification remain deeply rooted in the industry.
Savage recounted how she was denied bookings simply because she refused to “personally visit” powerful male executives who attempted to leverage their influence for access to her body.
In her words:
“I had been told that if I didn’t go and see ‘this chairman’ personally, I would not be put on a show.”
She went on to reveal a particularly painful incident where she lost a major endorsement deal because she refused to accompany a top company executive on a private trip.
“I lost an endorsement because I refused to go to Dubai with a man who is one of the owners of the company,” she said.
According to Savage, these experiences were a harsh realisation that many industry gatekeepers valued her physical appeal more than her talent.
“That was when I realised that they don’t value my talent but my body… I was only flaunting it as part of branding, but it ended up hurting me because that is all they were seeing.”