2023 in Review: Iyabo Ojo, Davido, Naira Marley, 7 Other Most Controversial Celebs of the Year
- People went into the year 2023 with different plans and resolutions, but not many of them would have imagined the reasons that would make them be in the news
- A series of top stars made headlines for controversial reasons while falling off the graces of their teeming fans
- Legit.ng has compiled a list of some of Nigeria's most controversial celebrities of 2023
The year 2023 has been filled with many ups and downs in Nigerian celebrity circles, with some stars trending for more controversial reasons than others.
It appeared to be a year of discoveries, seeing as people who used to be the fans' favourites started to make the news for negative reasons, resulting in them losing some of their good graces.
Source: Instagram
As the year winds up gradually, Legit.ng will be looking at some top Nigerian stars who made headlines for controversial reasons in 2023.
1. Controversies trailing Iyabo Ojo in 2023
The Nigerian actress and activist, Iyabo Ojo, went from being called a Queen Mother to being labelled a bully. The movie star trended for most of 2023 for controversial reasons that she perhaps never saw coming. One of the reasons Iyabo was embroiled in drama was her active involvement in trying to get justice for the late singer Mohbad. The movement started with many people on her side, but later on, the narrative started to shift that she was only involved for clout and was trying to pin the late singer's demise on his former label boss, Naira Marley. During the fracas, some netizens started to point fingers at Iyabo, claiming she was behind the controversial anonymous gossip blog, Gistlover. The actress' fight for justice for Mohbad also got her into a war of words with controversial TikToker, VeryDarkMan, among others.
However, this wasn't the only reason Iyabo remained controversial in 2023. Her support for the Labour Party's presidential candidate, Peter Obi, also got her a lot of enemies among her colleagues in the movie industry, with many of them calling her names for not backing Tinubu to win.
Finally, the Nollywood actress' character in the popular reality TV series, Real Housewives of Lagos (RHOL), left many of her fans divided after a number of her co-stars, including Faith Morey and Laura Ikeji, accused her of being a bully. Iyabo also did not help matters when a clip from the show went viral of her saying that it is okay for her to bully a person she doesn't like.
2. Controversial reasons Davido made headlines in 2023
Despite ending the year 2022 on a tragic note, Davido was not spared from the wrath of netizens after he started to make headlines for controversial reasons. It all started when an American businesswoman, Anita Brown, claimed to be pregnant for the DMW boss. Many Nigerians were surprised that Davido would sleep with other women after his wife, Chioma, suffered the tragic loss of their son, Ifeanyi. Anita was relentless in dragging Davido, and she continued to share receipts of their time together and her correspondence with people on Davido's team after the pregnancy scandal went viral. Shortly after Anita started dragging Davido, another French lady, Ivanna Bay, also came on social media to claim she was with the singer's child.
Another controversial reason Davido made headlines was when several people called him out for owing them money. This came as a big surprise to Nigerians as he is known to be a rich and generous kid. Some of the people who accused Davido of being a debtor included former Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick, singer Dammy Krane, and businessman Abu Salami.
3 & 4. Naira Marley and Sam Larry cancelled in 2023
Marlian Music boss Naira Marley's fall from grace in 2023 was perhaps the most unexpected. The music star went from having one of the biggest fan bases in Nigeria to getting cancelled and banned by radio stations. It all started after the singer's former signee, Mohbad, died under unclear circumstances at the young age of 27. Many netizens were quick to point fingers at Naira Marley, seeing as a video had gone viral about a year ago of Mohbad telling people to hold Naira Marley responsible for his death.
Naira Marley's associate, Sam Larry, also got some of the stink from Mohbad's death after a video surfaced online of him storming the set of a video shoot to harass the late singer. People accused him of being a bully who was doing Naira Marley's bidding. He and the Marlian Music boss had to flee Nigeria for a while, but they eventually returned and were whisked away to police custody.
5. Jay Boogie's controversial BBL
Popular Nigerian transgender model Daniel Nsikan, aka Jay Boogie, became even better known after he cried out on social media for people to help him while claiming that he had undergone a BBL surgery that left him with acute kidney injury and sepsis. While some Nigerians taunted him, many others donated to make sure he got the best medical care. However, claims started to make the rounds that Jay Boogie was well and only playing on the empathy of Nigerians to swindle them. Shortly after, the trans model began to make media appearances and was very much back on his feet.
6. Reason Eniola Badmus made headlines in 2023
Popular Nigerian actress, Eniola Badmus, received a lot of bashing from Nigerians over her political alliance. The movie star was a proud All Progressives Congress (APC) supporter, and Nigerians relentlessly dragged her.
7. Blessing CEO among controversial celebs of 2023
Popular Nigerian relationship therapist, Blessing CEO, is no stranger to being in the news for negative reasons, and she made the controversial list in 2023. She was engaged in a series of messy fights with other celebrities, such as Phyna and even her alleged ex-lover, IVD. The socialite also had to tender a public apology to top singer Davido after she claimed online that he owed IVD the balance of the car he bought from him for his aide, Isreal DMW.
8. Toke Makinwa makes headlines
Popular Nigerian media personality and self-styled baby girl Toke Makinwa went mostly unnoticed in 2023 till the latter part of the year when she was listed as one of the delegates to attend a climate summit in Dubai with President Tinubu. Many Nigerians were quick to call her names, claiming she was enjoying the largesse of leaders lavishing money meant for the country's improvement. Toke, however, seemed undisturbed by the claims and continued to enjoy her time in the City of Gold.
9. Why Seun Kuti was in the news in 2023
Nigerian singer and Fela Kuti's son, Seun, is one celebrity who was also in the news for different controversial reasons. In May 2023, a video went viral online showing the music star in a scuffle with a policeman and even allegedly getting physical with him. In the short clip that trended, the singer was with his wife and daughter when he charged at the uniformed man for allegedly putting his family in harm's way.
Another reason Seun Kuti made headlines in 2023 was over the presidential election. The music star did not seem sold on the idea of Peter Obi, and some netizens assumed he was in support of his running mate, Tinubu. Seun was heavily tackled, and he responded in kind, even blasting top singers, Paul and Peter Okoye of PSquare.
Seun Kuti also aired his grievances with comedian AY Makun. The singer claimed AY had used his predicament to taunt him in one of his skits and spared no words in dragging him on social media.
10. How Tolani Baj stirred controversy in 2023
BBNaija star, Tolani Baj, seemed to be in the news for most of 2023 for negative reasons. The reality show star's participation in the BBNaija All Stars' season left a bad taste in the mouth of some Nigerians after she was accused of bullying her co-star, Ilebaye, and also being too clingy with Neo despite knowing he was in a relationship outside the house.
TBaj's exit from the BBNaija show did not make things improve for her after she started to co-host a podcast called Bahd and Boujiee. During one of the episodes, the reality star stated that the only thing she brings to the table in a relationship is her private part.
The year 2023 has been filled with a lot of talking points for fans to mull over, with many celebrities being at the centre of controversial discussions. Perhaps the year 2024 will have something different in store.
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Source: Legit.ng
