Fame can change your life in one night – one hit song, one viral movie role, one big moment and suddenly the whole country knows your name.

In today’s social media world, nothing truly disappears. Old tweets, interviews, pictures and careless jokes can resurface years later, especially when a celebrity is at the peak of their career. For many Nigerian stars, the past has shown up uninvited and it has not always been kind.

For Nigerian music star Simi, what began as a call to speak against sexual violence quickly turned into a moment where she had to answer for her own past words.

It started in mid-February, when a young lady named Mirabel shared a video on TikTok alleging sexual assault. Many people showed sympathy and called for justice. Simi also went on X to speak up.

She wrote: “I’m sickkk of this. STOP RAPING WOMEN. They need to castrate rapists and burn them.”

Some people agreed with her anger. Others felt her words were too harsh. When some users argued with her, she replied, “Stfu.”

That short response made things worse, people began to drag her and started searching through her old tweets; tweets from 2012 were brought back online. One of them said, “David has a crush on me… Should I give him a chance? P.S He’s 4.”

At the time it was likely meant as a joke, but many people saw it differently years later. Critics said it was inappropriate. Supporters said it was an old harmless joke.

Simi later addressed the issue, she explained that the tweets were from many years ago and that she has grown since then. She said people should not twist her past to create a false story about her character.

She is not the only one who faced this; her husband, Adekunle Gold, who is also a Nigerian artiste, has also had old tweets resurface in the past.

When celebrities become big, people often search for things they once said, sometimes to hold them accountable, sometimes just to drag them.

Another is Ezra Olubi, the co-founder and former CTO of Paystack. His story trended online because old tweets he posted many years ago resurfaced during a sexual misconduct controversy.

The scandal involving Ezra Olubi started with a personal dispute that quickly grew into one of the biggest online controversies in Nigeria’s tech world.

It all began in November 2025, when someone claimed that Olubi had behaved inappropriately toward a subordinate. This allegation immediately caught the attention of social media users, and the story started spreading fast on X.

Before the sexual misconduct claim went viral, there was already a personal tension between Olubi and someone who owed him money.
According to online discussions, it was this person who first started digging through Olubi’s old social media posts. The idea was allegedly to find dirt or leverage over him because of the debt dispute.

They found old tweets he made between 2009 and 2013. The tweets, many of which were sexually explicit, raised many questions. Some of the posts that circulated widely included:

“Monday will be more fun with an ‘a’ in it. Touch a coworker today. Inappropriately.”

“I judge my female friends by the sound their pee make. Thanks to the audio recorder in my bathroom.”

“Save water. Take a bath with your neighbour’s daughter.”

“On a lighter note, I hear sex wit a minor cures HIV. So my +ve followers, help yourselves. Ur neighbour’s daughter isn’t looking bad today”

For many, these posts were not just jokes, they were a glimpse into attitudes and behaviour that seemed completely unacceptable, especially from someone in a high-profile position like Olubi, co-founder of Paystack.

Some users wrote:

“If this is what he tweeted years ago, imagine what could have happened behind closed doors.”

“This is why people say the internet never forgets. Your past can always catch up with you.”

The public outrage became so loud that Paystack stepped in, deciding to suspend Olubi from his role as Chief Technology Officer, saying it was taking the allegations seriously and that a proper investigation would follow.

Olubi later deactivated his X account, but by then, the screenshots had already spread across blogs, and Instagram.

A disagreement over money may have been the spark, but the fuel was Olubi’s old tweets and the sensitive nature of the allegation. In a matter of days, a private conflict became a nationwide conversation about ethics, accountability, and the power of social media.

Another instance of burden of the past was the old Tweets from BNXN (formerly Buju), before he rose to fame. BNXN used Twitter like many young people did, as a diary and a space to share everything on his mind.

Back then, life was tough on him, in 2016 and the years that followed. He tweeted about how hard things were, even jokingly begging for food and airtime, including spaghetti and shawarma.

Later, after he became a successful singer with hit tracks and collaborations, those old posts resurfaced online. People began sharing screenshots and laughing at the tweets they once ignored.
One of the most shared screenshots showed the young BNXN joking about being hungry and in need of a meal:

“Guy I’m crying, una owe me spaghetti for this, I love you.” — Benson (@BNXN)

His early tweets weren’t just about food, he also tweeted about airtime struggles, he wrote:

“Good morning everyone except Diamond Bank, y’all did me dirty. I had only ₦1,000 in that account, y’all debited ₦100.”

Fans also found posts where he begged for small help online, including airtime, shawarma and cash, shared over time as he struggled before fame.

After these resurfaced, BNXN responded with humility and reflection, turning what some called embarrassing into something inspirational:
BNXN’s Responded to His Old Tweets and said:

“I hope you draw some sort of inspiration aside from the comedy from all this. I went after every dream I had and overcame. You can too. Believe. ” — Benson (@BNXN)

“All I feel is gratitude to God almighty. Una no go fit fully understand… Twitter really was my diary at some point.” — Benson (@BNXN)

This story is a reminder that in today’s world, your online past never truly disappears. Even posts from more than a decade ago can resurface and change the way people see you, especially if you hold a position of influence.

The truth is simple: when you are famous, your old mistakes become public property.

“Stardom and the burden of the past” is a story about accountability and forgiveness. Celebrities are public figures, but they are also human beings who grow and change. The challenge is learning how to hold people accountable while still allowing them to become better than they were before.

It also presents a challenge to celebrities who came from humble backgrounds, or may have been controversial in the past; as the fame grows, celebrities must go back in time to clean up past errors before they become material for public discourse.

It is important to note that indeed, some celebrities need to make full recompense for past antisocial behaviour, especially the kind that suggest participation in sexual abuse, or gender-based violence; such celebrities must be made to feel the full weight of the law, no matter how long it has been since the offence was committed.