Nigerian singer Speed Darlington has issued an apology after a disturbing video of him claiming he slept with a 15-year-old girl went viral.
The footage, which quickly spread online, sparked outrage and prompted demands for him to be questioned by authorities.
In a new video shared on his page, the artist addressed the backlash.
He explained that the controversial comments were made to draw attention to his new song. According to him, controversy is often necessary for artists to remain relevant.
“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,” he said.
“If you are not trending, you are not getting booked. Simple! Nobody is booking something that is not trending.”
Speed Darlington revealed that his latest song contains explicit lyrics and that he needed matching content to promote it.
“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 musics. When I dropped my song, I need f#ck contents to push it. That is what I was doing. Don’t give it more like than it is supposed to have.”
He also added an apology for those hurt by the video. “If any of you is offended, it’s alright. Apologies.”
Meanwhile, the Speed Darlington controversy has caused intense reactions from Nigerians on social media.
Many users believe that such a sensitive topic should not be used as a tool for marketing, no matter the reason.
They insist that he should be invited by the authorities to explain the comments clearly.
