‘I was a victim’ — Tiwa Savage opens up on leaked tape trauma, reveals it was exposed as a bet

• Tiwa Savage says her leaked private video was exposed as part of a bet involving her then-boyfriend.

• The singer described the experience as traumatic and said she now sees herself as a victim.

• She also dismissed claims that the leak was a publicity stunt and said legal action became too difficult to pursue.

Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage has given new details about the leak of her private video, revealing that her then-boyfriend was behind it as part of a bet with his friends.

The video first surfaced online in 2021, sparking widespread reactions across social media and within the entertainment industry. At the time, reports suggested it had been leaked by a blackmailer after Savage refused to pay hush money to prevent its release.

Speaking on The Breakfast Club, an American radio show, Savage said her boyfriend at the time initially told her the video was sent by accident while he was trying to save it. She later learned the circumstances were different.

She explained that she was in a relationship with him at the time and only discovered afterward that the leak had stemmed from a wager between him and his friends.

“Even that itself was traumatic because he was my boyfriend, we were in a relationship, and I’m hearing later that it was a bet. So, did you really like me or this was just planned from the beginning”, she said.

Savage said the betrayal cut deeper because of the trust involved, given that he was her partner. She said she has since avoided meeting romantic partners in hotel rooms, citing concerns about hidden cameras, and prefers keeping such meetings within spaces she controls, partly to protect her son from public exposure to her personal life.

“I’m not going to anyone’s hotel cause you can have cameras hidden; yeah, you’re coming to my safe space.”

On coping with the fallout, the singer said she initially dealt with the situation through humour, including referencing it in her music, such as a line in her song 'Loaded.' She said this was her way of appearing unaffected at the time.

Looking back, however, she said she has since come to terms with the fact that she did not fully process the experience when it happened. She described herself as having been hurt and said she now views herself as a victim of the situation, rather than someone who invited it.

Savage also addressed accusations that the leak was staged for publicity. She rejected the claims, saying “They thought I did it for PR. A lot of people thought, ‘Ah, she's not relevant anymore and she's doing this.’ And I'm like, Guys, trust me, if I wanted to do that, I would have had better lighting.

She added that attempts to pursue legal action against those responsible did not succeed, saying the process became too emotionally difficult to sustain given the repeated need to revisit the events.

Savage's comments formed part of a wider interview in which she also discussed her album This One Is Personal, ageism within the music industry, and how she has continued building her career while navigating public controversy over the years.

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