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Embattled Former Miss SA Contender Chidimma Adetshina To Compete For Miss Universe Nigeria After Citizenship Controversy

Following weeks of controversy surrounding her participation in the Miss South Africa beauty pageant, Chidimma Adetshina has agreed to run for the Miss Universe Nigeria title.

The 23-year-old model, who was born in South Africa to a Nigerian father, withdrew from Miss South Africa “for the safety and wellbeing of my family and I” after a backlash that brought anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa to the fore.

Organizers of the Miss Nigeria Universe contest immediately invited Chidimma Adetshina to join their final on August 31, saying it was a chance to “represent your father’s native land on an international stage”.

“Thank you so much for this opportunity, and I look forward to participating in Africa’s most prestigious beauty pageant, Miss Universe Nigeria,” Adetshina replied in a video on Instagram.

The social media backlash centered on her father’s nationality, despite South Africa granting citizenship by birth to anyone born in the country after 1995 to a South African parent or permanent resident.
As the controversy attracted the attention of government ministers and other figures, the home ministry launched an investigation that ultimately raised questions about the nationality of Adetshina’s mother, who was reported to be a South African of Mozambican descent.

It uncovered “prima facie indications” that her mother might have stolen the identity of a South African woman, the ministry said, adding it was obtaining legal advice on the implications for her citizenship.

The saga exposed anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa which has witnessed violent, and at times deadly, attacks on immigrants and led to accusations of “Afrophobia” against citizens from elsewhere on the continent.

It also fanned rivalry between the netizens of Africa’s two economic powerhouses.

South Africans did not appreciate the reaction of Nigerian afrobeat superstar, Burna Boy, when the eventual winner of Miss South Africa was announced on August 10 as a white woman, Mia le Roux.

“So after all that …” he posted on X with laughing emojis.

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Celebs

“I can never marry a Nigerian” — DJ Cuppy

DJ Cuppy has decided against marrying a Nigerian man, and she has a reason that says as much about the unique pressures of dating as a billionaire’s daughter as it does about the men involved.

Speaking in a resurfaced interview, the DJ and media personality said her last Nigerian partner spent more energy trying to secure a meeting with her father, business mogul Femi Otedola, than actually pursuing her.

“I can never marry a Nigerian. The last Nigerian I dated was already asking me when he could meet my dad. I don’t even think they actually like me,” she said.

The comment was received well because it touched something many high-profile women have spoken about privately, which is the difficulty of knowing whether interest is genuine or transactional when your last name opens doors that most people spend careers trying to reach.

Cuppy added that her father has no strong preference on nationality, only that she eventually gets married. She also used the moment to express happiness about her sister Temi Otedola’s relationship with star Mr Eazi.

Cuppy’s romantic history has rarely been quiet. Her most high-profile relationship was with British boxer Ryan Taylor, which moved quickly from a 2022 engagement to a 2023 breakup and a series of very public exchanges in the years that followed.

In early 2024, Cuppy posted something her exes interpreted as a taunt, suggesting they could not afford to be where she was without her help. Taylor responded in the comments with: “Neither can you.”

The back-and-forth did not stop there. In 2025, Taylor appeared on a podcast and alleged that Cuppy had expressed discomfort around Nigerians, claiming she discouraged him from hiring Nigerian staff and was uncomfortable when Nigerian fans approached her in public.

That allegation, largely unaddressed at the time, now circles back with some irony given her latest comments.

Before Taylor, Cuppy was publicly linked to Davido’s manager Asa Asika and Nigerian footballer Victor Anichebe.

She has since said she prefers low-key, non-celebrity partners, someone with a regular job, away from the spotlight that has followed most of her previous relationships.

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Celebs

‘I smoked 40 sticks a day for 13 years’: Ebuka opens up on nicotine addiction as Banky W revisits porn struggle

Ebuka Obi-Uchendu says he smoked up to 40 cigarettes daily for 13 years, while Banky W revisited his past pornography addiction on Mentality with Ebuka. Ebuka Obi-Uchendu has revealed that he began smoking in JSS3 and spent the next 13 years addicted to cigarettes, reaching a peak of two packs, roughly 40 sticks, every single day by the time he was in university.

The television host disclosed the latest episode of his podcast Mentality with Ebuka, which aired on Friday, May 22. The episode featured singer and pastor Banky W and medical content creator Aproko Doctor in a candid conversation about addiction, its origins, and the long road out of it.

“I started smoking in JSS3, which is crazy young,” Ebuka said. “It was basically peer pressure, wanting to prove myself, wanting to belong. By the time I was done with secondary school, I had become full-on. Got into university, and by university, I was doing about two packs a day. That’s about 40 sticks of cigarettes every single day.”

He added that his exit from the habit was less a dramatic decision and more a test of willpower. “The last stick of cigarettes I had was in February 2008. I didn’t quit. I just kept saying let me see how much longer I will hold out for, and now it’s been almost 18 years.”

Banky W used the same platform to revisit a confession he had made publicly before, his years-long struggle with pornography addiction, tracing it back to a freshman dormitory in a New York university where a classmate had shared an open hard drive filled with explicit content accessible to the entire floor.

“I wonder how many of us got trapped in that moment,” he said. He described the experience of trying to stop as a confrontation with something far more entrenched than he had anticipated.

“When it’s now time to stop, you realise you’re dealing with demons that are much stronger than you. That was where the reality dawned on me.” He said it took a deliberate journey to reach a place of freedom, and that he has since addressed the issue openly from the pulpit, part of what he described as a growing willingness among pastors to tackle subjects previously considered too uncomfortable for the church.

The episode is the latest in Ebuka’s Mentality series, which has carved out a space for honest, personal conversations that Nigerian public figures rarely have on record.

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Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, and Drake named Spotify’s most-streamed artists of all time

To mark its 20th anniversary, Spotify is giving users personalised all-time insights, including:
Their first day on Spotify

The total number of unique songs they have listened to

Their first streamed song

Their all-time most-streamed artist

Their All-Time Top Songs playlist, featuring their top 120 tracks, complete with play counts

Now available to eligible users in Nigeria and Kenya, Spotify 20 turns each listener’s journey into a nostalgia-filled celebration, revealing the songs, artists and milestones that have defined their time on the platform.

Each data story comes with a share card at the end of the experience, making it easy for fans to save their results, send them to friends, or share them across social platforms. For listeners in Nigeria and Kenya, Spotify 20 offers a new way to revisit the songs that have soundtracked everyday moments, major milestones and cultural shifts. Spotify 20 is part of the global celebration of Spotify’s 20th anniversary, which also spotlights the platform’s all-time most-streamed content.

Globally, the top three most-streamed artists of all time are Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Drake. Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti is the most-streamed album, while The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ is the most-streamed song, followed by Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’. The most-streamed podcast globally is The Joe Rogan Experience, and the most-streamed audiobook among Premium subscribers is Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses.

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