Video: Speed Darlington apologizes after backlash over viral claim of sleeping with 15-year-old girl

Abdullateef Fowewe

Controversial Nigerian artist Speed Darlington has issued an apology to his fans after facing backlash from a viral video in which he seemingly confessed to having slept with a 15-year-old virgin girl.

Video link: https://x.com/DailyEconews/status/1927693481159307294?t=YyCNheEZi–4VPyV11z-pw&s=19

In the initial footage, which has been widely criticised on social media, the singer recounted an unsettling encounter from a decade ago involving a teenage girl, igniting immediate outrage and calls for legal repercussions.

However, in a subsequent video shared on his Instagram page on Wednesday, Speed Darlington asserted that the viral narrative was merely a publicity stunt designed to promote his latest music release.

He also expressed his apologies to his fans and anyone who found the video offensive.

He could be heard saying, “All my followers pissed off about the video I recorded in which I spoke about me sleeping with a 15-year-old, I am an artist.

“I need controversy to eat. If you are not trending, you are not getting booked. Simple! Nobody is booking something that is not trending.

“I have a new song now. The song is talking about f#ck this, f#ck that. This is my genre. I do not perform Christian music. When I dropped my song, I needed f#ck contents to push it. That is what I was doing. Don’t give it more like than it is supposed to have.

“If any of you are offended, it’s alright. Apologies.”

It may be recalled that on Tuesday that Speed Darlington was criticised following a viral Instagram live video in which he seemingly admitted to defiling a 15-year-old girl.

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.