Nothing sexual about it - Jim Iyke clarifies controversial Kate Henshaw birthday message

Nollywood actor James Ikechukwu Esomugha, popularly known as Jim Iyke, has clarified his controversial birthday message to actress Kate Henshaw.

Jim playfully slammed the actress in a message shared on his Instagram page last weekend, which he penned on behalf of his 23-year-old self for treating him like a baby brother when he clearly wanted something intimate.

He recounted how Henshaw was good to him, giving him money and helping him out with auditions, but never let him out of the friend zone.

He said if the actress had allowed him to “experiment with my seed”, they would have made “a gorgeous human”.

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Jim further slammed Henshaw for running off to marry “that Oyibo” with whom he said she had “a gorgeous lovely baby.”

However, in a recent interview with 3FM 102.7 Ghana, Jim offered a clarification of his message, saying, “there’s nothing sexual about it.”

Although he insisted that he meant every word he wrote, he explained that the message was simply him expressing a deep, long-standing friendship with someone he has known for over two decades.

He noted that the post was a “wordplay” and there’s a mutual feeling between him and Henshaw.

Jim further said that Henshaw is one of the few people he can speak to without fear of judgment, as he described her as “his boy”—someone he trusts completely and can be vulnerable with without any romantic or sexual undertones.

He described their relationship as a genuine friendship, saying, “this is someone I can speak my truth to and get honest advice from. It’s just a genuine friendship”.

He said, “I meant everything I said in that post. I rarely say something I don’t mean. I don’t waste words. My words are my bond. I have known this person for over two decades of my life. We have grown as friends and as brother and sister.

“What happened was a wordplay that was told in a place of a comfort zone that only two people or less can cohabit. Because these are words that either resonate clearly in your head and never find expression through your voice; you carry them forever and one day you said, ‘F**k it’, take a pen and let the word have a glimpse of how you feel about certain people.

“I know the feeling is mutual. There’s nothing absolutely sexual about it [the birthday tribute]. It doesn’t even suggest someone I’m dating.”

Recall that Jim’s colleague, Gideon Okeke, had criticised the message, faulting what he described as “narcīssistic effrontery”. The actor called Jim a “Small Boy” and “bonehead” who talks “anyhow in public”.

ALSO READ: Jim Iyke is a small boy to me - Actor Gideon Okeke calls colleague out

On the other hand, veteran actor Patrick Doyle has more recently spoken out in defence of Jim over the message, saying it is a clever and warm gesture.

He wrote: “I think Jim paid my darling sister a very witty and affectionate compliment with his message. The Kate I know has an excellent sense of humour and will accept the compliment for what it truly is, an affectionate expression of admiration.”