Nigerian actress and media personality Temi Otedola disclosed that she has no intention of denying that she benefited from nepotism, describing it as an honest acknowledgement of the advantages she enjoyed while growing up.
Speaking on a recent episode of The How Far Podcast, which she co-hosts with her husband, singer Mr Eazi, Temi said recognising one’s privilege does not diminish personal achievements.
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The daughter of billionaire businessman Femi Otedola explained that privilege extends beyond having famous parents and includes access to financial stability, quality education and opportunities unavailable to many others.
“You don’t have to be famous to be privileged. Privilege is growing up in a situation where your parents had a certain amount of money, you didn’t have to struggle, and you had access to education, food and a foundation in life that not everybody gets,” she said.
Illustrating her point, Temi said family connections could create opportunities that others might not have.
“If our child wanted to become an artiste, you would introduce them to a producer and pay for their music video. That is an unfair advantage. That is nepotism,” she said.
She added, “You can never catch me, on camera or off camera, saying I’m not a nepo baby. I find it crazy when people don’t admit to the advantage.”
Temi, however, maintained that acknowledging privilege does not mean a person has not worked hard to succeed.
“At the end of the day, I was given a leg up and I’ve made the most of it. I definitely got lots of privileges as a result of the hard work that came before me,” she said.