5 controversial celebrity moments of 2023

Whew! It has been a very long year and boy has it been a dramatic one.

Let’s get into the celebrity moments that set social media ablaze in 2023 and had people talking.

Here are 5 of the most controversial moments this year.

1. Davido's baby mama drama

Back in June 2023, the whole internet was thrown into a huge frenzy when not one but TWO women popped up with pregnancy claims for Davido… yup, the married Davido. Let’s just say that social media was taken aback.

It began when an American woman named Anita Brown stated that she had an affair with the married singer and was pregnant for him. During this time, it seemed as though the singer was not so “Unavailable” after all.

Anita browns alleged conversation with Davido

Surely, Nigerians came for her on her claims, calling them bogus. However, Brown didn’t back down. To prove her innocence, she took a pregnancy test live on Instagram and then posted screenshots of a conversation between Davido and her, and another with his cousin, Clarks Adeleke. When the backlash began, she defended herself by stating she did not know Davido was married to Chioma.

Anita Brown's alleged Snapchat conversation with Davidos cousin; Clarks

The internet was shaken as the claims unravelled because it had not been too long since the singer and his wife lost their only child Ifeanyi to a pool accident, and were thought to still be grieving.

On to number two. a 22-year-old French woman named Ivanna Bay also stated that she was pregnant for Davido. She also posted screenshots of her conversations with the singer, including one that showed him asking to meet her at a hotel in Paris. Oh, the internet was in shambles!

Alleged conversation between Davido and Ivanna Beyp

2. Naira Marley allegedly being linked to Mohbad's death

Naira Marley was also under intense scrutiny this year after Nigeria’s entertainment industry lost a shining star Ilerioluwa “Mohbad” Aloba, on September 12, 2023. Mohbad was once a signee under Marley’s record label, Marlian Music. After his death, old videos of the singer being harrassed resurfaced on social media, with critics raising questions about whether or not Marley was involved in the tragedy. In one of such videos, Mohbad cried and lamented that if he ever died, Marley was to be held responsible.

Nigerians who were still in mourning did not take kindly to his alleged involvement and immediately called for his arrest. The Japa singer trended for days across social media platforms until he returned to the country and was arrested by the police. During the investigations, the police announced they had only found evidence linking him to the assault and bullying of the late singer.

3. Oladips’ fake death

Oladipupo Olabode Oladimeji, popularly known as Oladips, was also involved in a huge controversy this year. Why? He died, or, well, didn’t die.

In what social media users have described as “pulling a Skiibi,” Oladips was pronounced dead on November 14, 2023, by his management who stated that he had been battling an illness privately for two years. At the time, social media users had not recovered from Mohbad’s death and the news was incredibly saddening.

Oladips attested that he never faked his death [Instagram/Oladipsoflife]

However, while Nigerians were sending their condolences, it was speculated that Oladips was indeed alive. And true to that, some days after, the rapper himself sprung up on his social media to debunk the claims that he had passed away,

Trust social media users to go off on Oladips, stressing that he did all that as a publicity stunt to promote his forthcoming album. Many tagged him as a clout chaser and insensitive for “faking his death.”

Oladips has since apologised to Nigerians for the confusion caused by the mishap, stating that he was truly sick and was unresponsive for three days. He also added that the news of his death was hastily announced by his manager, who was fired shortly after.

Oladips blames the whole controversy on Qdot [Instagram/Oladipsoflife]

4. Seun Kuti slapping a police officer

Now this particular incident was a huge topic of discourse in May 2023 after Seun Kuti, the youngest son of the legendary Afrobeat godfather, Fela Kuti, was caught on tape slapping a police officer on Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.

Seun Kuti slaps police officer in uniform. [Twitter:@OneJoblessBoy]

On this one, Twitter went wild with some saying the policeman probably deserved it, and others saying that nobody should ever hit a police officer in uniform. It became a whole back-and-forth. In defiance, Kuti stood his ground on his claims that the policeman had tried to kill him and his family. He asserted that he had a child in the backseat of the car and the policeman was reckless, thus endangering their lives. In the videos that made the rounds on social media, no child was seen.

Kuti was arrested and pictures of him in handcuffs were released to the public. He was arraigned in court for assaulting a law enforcement officer, but nothing has been heard of the case since then.

Seun Kuti in handcuffs after his arrest [LSPC]

5. Rema's “demonic” 02 Arena performance

Rema is known for his back-to-back hits and we know this. But let's just say his performance at the renowned 02 Arena was “another banger” for a different reason. The singer has recently been slammed with a barrage of Illuminati/demonic claims. Many of his critics claim the singer had sold his soul to the devil and was showing off demonic symbols.

In what many social media users found concerning, Rema stepped on the stage on an artificial dark horse and a strange mask. For his second appearance, he emerged in a huge mechanical bat ensemble.

Rema's entry during his 02 Arena performance had people talking [Joseph Okpako/WireImage]

Let’s just say many Illuminati conspiracies stemmed from his choice of props for his show, so much so that Rema had to speak up and explain what the props were.

Rema's creative stage props pay homage to his roots. [Joseph Okpako/WireImage]

The artiste defended himself stating that everything used on his set was in homage to his state of origin, Edo State. He stated that the dark horse was a replica of a Benin artefact, and the mask was a replica of the famous Queen Idia mask. And as for the bat? It was to pay homage to the bats that light up the Edo night sky.

Even after his explanation, some social media users were still not fully convinced.