Afrobeats star Yemi Alade has spoken candidly about the disturbing sexual harassment she endured while trying to build her career as a young, struggling artiste.
Appearing on the Swift Conversations podcast, Alade shared that her earliest years in the industry were marked by repeated harassment from music executives—often during what were supposed to be professional meetings or studio sessions. According to her, these experiences became so overwhelming that she began questioning whether she should continue pursuing music at all.
Alade recalled moments when influential older men subjected her to inappropriate touching and advances, including one particularly troubling incident in which a managing director began rubbing her thighs under a meeting table.
Reflecting on her early journey, she said: “In those beginning days, all I thought I needed was just my talent because that’s what I have. I didn’t have a bank account full of money I could use to sponsor myself.”
She added that despite her passion and hard work, what she encountered behind closed doors was far from the opportunity she expected:
“I just had a talent and a zeal, and a promise that I made to myself and a promise I believed God made to me. So, I always tried to show up. I was told that I needed to work harder and so I worked harder, and it wasn’t enough. There were doors I needed to walk up to and when I walked up to the doors, they didn’t want my talent, they wanted something else.”
Describing how rampant the harassment became, she continued:
“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.”Still baffled by the audacity she encountered, she added:
“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.”
These painful experiences eventually pushed Alade to rethink her path, leading to a pivotal moment of self-determination. She explained that she learned to stop relying on traditional “doors” of opportunity and instead focus on forging her own path—choosing to “break down the walls” that stood in her way rather than waiting for acceptance within the industry.
The revelation highlights the darker side of the entertainment industry, especially for young women trying to navigate their careers while facing people in positions of power who exploit their authority.
