Nigerian Afrobeats singer Yemi Alade has talked about the sexual harassment she endured some years ago.
During a recent discussion on Swift Conversations, the 36-year-old singer disclosed that she battled sexual harassment at a time she was coming up as a female artiste.
Alade indicated that the rampant sexual harassment came from music executives, often during business meetings and studio sessions, which made her question her decision to pursue a career in music.
The Nigerian singer recalled that some of them touched her inappropriately, while these men in powerful positions made advances towards her. She also recounted one of the disturbing times when a managing director rubbed her thighs under the table during a meeting.
“In those beginning days, all I thought I needed was just my talent because that’s what I have. I didn’t have a bank account full of money I could use to sponsor myself.
“I just had a talent and a zeal, and a promise that I made to myself and a promise I believed God made to me. So, I always tried to show up. I was told that I needed to work harder and so I worked harder, and it wasn’t enough. There were doors I needed to walk up to and when I walked up to the doors, they didn’t want my talent, they wanted something else.
“Many times from business meetings to studio sessions to even winning certain awards and you meet maybe the managing director or any other executive and they are trying to rub your thighs under the table. And I was just a teen. My grand pa is rubbing my legs and I can’t speak because I’m in shock.
“We are having an actual business meeting. Why are you rubbing my thighs? I had to speak to myself and decided if music was what I wanted to do because the sexual harassment was becoming too rampant. But something in me told me to keep pushing my talent. So, I still showed up. If door was left open for me, I would walk in. If it was shut in my face, I would walk away,” Yemi Alade revealed.
The bad experiences compelled her to think outside the box, take charge of her own destiny, and “stop walking through the doors” and instead “break down the walls” that stood in her way.
