Tiwa Savage Reveals How She Survived Sex Tape Scandal, Father’s Death

Tiwa Savage, one of Africa’s most celebrated music stars, has spoken candidly about how she weathered the storm following the leak of her private sex tape in 2021, describing it as the lowest point of her career.

In a recent interview on the Zeze Millz Show, the Stamina hitmaker revealed that the scandal came at a time when she was also mourning the death of her father, making the experience even more devastating.

“My lowest point, it was a space of a month or two that year when my dad died and my sex tape was released. That was low. It was really low. Thinking about it now, it is crazy. The backlash was really horrible. It was my fault. It was really tough,” she said.

The 45-year-old singer admitted that despite the emotional toll, she made a conscious decision not to take a break from music. Instead, she immersed herself in work as a coping mechanism.

“I did not take time out. I just kept working — back to back. The only way I could have survived was to not think about it, just keep going and keep working. Whenever you are going through a storm, it is still very hard. But now, I always remind myself that if I could get through that period, this storm will pass eventually,” she explained.

Reflecting on her journey, Tiwa Savage said she still believes her greatest career moment is yet to come, despite her many successes.

She also spoke about how the incident reshaped her approach to life and work, saying she now prioritizes self-care and deliberately disconnects from the spotlight when needed.

“And I have also learnt how to take time out. Sometimes my team will tell me they have been trying to reach me. I switch off my phone and watch movies with friends. There is always going to be competition. There will always be other artistes, female artistes. I have been through so much that I now intentionally take time out to travel and hang out with friends who are not in the industry,” she said.