Afrobeats star, Tiwa Savage, has opened up about her long-standing feud with fellow singer Seyi Shay, offering new context to their highly publicised 2021 salon confrontation and dismissing long-running rumours of industry sabotage.
Speaking during an appearance on the YouTube show Off Air with Gbemi O and Toolz, Tiwa said the fallout stemmed from a diss track and unfounded claims that she had attempted to block opportunities for other female artists in the industry.
“I would never do that — I’m so pro-women,” she said.
Tiwa stated that while she prefers to address personal issues privately, she could not ignore what she perceived as hypocrisy. “If you do something to me, I will let you know. I don’t have to let you know online. Like the whole shade thing, I’m not going to pretend like you and I are cool in a salon when you did a diss track,” she said, referencing Seyi Shay’s verse in the 2017 Fvck You Challenge by Kizz Daniel.
She further revealed her shock at the rumour that she had attempted to “block bags” — industry slang for sabotaging someone’s financial or professional opportunities — particularly with regard to Seyi Shay and singer Victoria Kimani.
“That was painful, and I didn’t know where it was coming from. Till today, maybe I need to have a conversation with Shay,” Tiwa said.
“I heard that they thought I blocked their bag. How? If you’ve heard from anybody that I tried to block your bag, mention the person so I can address it.”
To counter the narrative, Tiwa shared a personal experience, pointing out that she lost a major endorsement deal during her pregnancy, which ultimately went to Seyi Shay.
“When I got pregnant and had Jamil, I was taken off a Pepsi campaign, Longer Throat, and Shay was booked on it,” she said.
“Go back and check it, Shay was a brand ambassador; I wasn’t.
I was taken off because I couldn’t snap back in time. So how am I stopping other people’s bags? I wasn’t even mad. I got in the gym and got my body back.”
The viral 2021 salon incident, where Tiwa and Seyi Shay were caught in a heated exchange, marked the most public flashpoint in their years-long rift. While Seyi Shay previously claimed she had tried to make peace, Tiwa’s recent remarks suggest that deeper industry tensions, misunderstandings, and rumours played a significant role in the breakdown of their relationship.
The conflict, which originated around 2017, has lingered for years, occasionally surfacing in subtle public digs and interviews from both sides.
