I was sexually harassed by music executives as a teenager – Yemi Alade

Nigerian singer Yemi Alade has opened up about the challenges she faced during her early years as a young, struggling female artiste.

The Johnny crooner revealed that sexual harassment was the major challenge she confronted, recalling how music executives often harassed her during meetings and studio sessions while she was still a teenager.

“Many times from business meetings to studio sessions to even winning certain awards and you meet maybe the managing director or any other executive and they are trying to rub your thighs under the table. And I was just a teen. My grand pa is rubbing my legs and I can’t speak because I’m in shock.

“We are having an actual business meeting. Why are you rubbing my thighs? I had to speak to myself and decided if music was what I wanted to do because the sexual harassment was becoming too rampant. But something in me told me to keep pushing my talent. So, I still showed up. If door was left open for me, I would walk in. If it was shut in my face, I would walk away.”

The singer said she became successful in the music industry after she realised that she “needed to stop walking through the doors and start breaking down the walls.”