Someone Once Said I Look Like A Remote Control – Waje

In a recent interview with Genevieve Magazine, popular Nigerian singer Waje, 35, has opened up on how fat-shaming used to affect her negatively and how she overcame it.

According to the award winning vocalist she said she broke down when she was fat shamed online after her performance at Guinness Colourful world event in October 2013.

“I trended on Twitter but not for the right reasons. I did not trend because of my performance, instead I trended because people were uncomfortable with my body size. They had an opinion about how I looked. The things people were comparing me to were hideous. Someone took a picture of a remote control and said I looked like that. That made me say to myself, ‘you know what Waje, music isn’t for you’. I had come out with an album, but when that happened, I said you know what, I can’t deal with this. I cried for hours that day at Eko Hotel” Waje told Genevieve Magazine.

Additionally she said “And interestingly, I started feeling the way they said I looked. So, I started drinking. I became bitter. I told myself I’m done with music. I’m going to find something else to do. I didn’t eat for days. I became angry with every family member who came to talk to me. I had no reasons to smile or be happy and decided to sign out of all my social media accounts.”

Thankfully Waje pulled out from the depression and started working out. “I started working with Uzikwendu of Uzi’s Burnout. And Uzi did not just work on my body, he worked on my mind, also. Through that, I separated myself from the negativity and focused on what I wanted to hear. I started to create an environment where the only thing I heard about myself is positive and great. So if you are my friend and you don’t compliment me, I’ll never call you. I edited my friendship. I then became more outspoken because initially I used to implode. I started telling it as it is. If I don’t like it, I say it. ”

Waje also said she pulled away from friends who weren’t supportive. Presently Waje says she doesn’t feel bothered about people’s negative comments.

“I had to tell myself, you are over thirty, if you don’t start telling people how you feel about their behavior, when will you start? That change made some people uncomfortable but that was the only way I could deal with it. You know, I used to think that my biggest fear in the world was failure, but I got to find out that my biggest fear was validation. As an artiste I wanted so much to be accepted. But now, I don’t care. Someone can say I do not like your song and I’ll say thank you; because my brand is not just about putting out good music but selling aspiration to women as well. But it gets difficult sometimes when people tell me that I am not a typical Nigerian woman because I am a single mother. So there are certain things I shouldn’t talk about, because I don’t have authority to talk about it. Even in the corporate world there are some jobs I can’t get because I am not married” Waje told Genevieve Magazine.

In the interview Waje also revealed that she has been dating and as a single mum she has a few rules for whoever she is dating. Firstly her home is off limits and she can’t introduce who she is dating to her daughter Emerald.

Waje and her teenage daughter recently had a photoshoot were they both looked adorable. o