Yemi Alade has drawn major attention across the entertainment scene after speaking about the troubling experiences she faced as a teenager trying to enter the music industry. The award-winning singer revealed that many early opportunities she expected to help her career were instead overshadowed by inappropriate behaviour from some industry executives.
She explained that she often went into meetings expecting guidance, but instead met advances that made her uncomfortable. This pattern repeated itself, leaving her discouraged, especially as someone still trying to understand the industry. In her words, “When I walked up to the doors, they didn’t want my talent, they wanted something else.”
Yemi Alade added that even simple studio visits and routine business sessions sometimes became uneasy. Recalling those moments, she said, “Many times from business meetings to studio sessions… 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.”
Despite these repeated experiences, she refused to give up on her music journey. She focused on growth and kept showing up, even when situations felt unfair. She explained her mindset at the time: “If music was what I wanted to do because the sexual harassment was becoming too rampant… something in me told me to keep pushing my talent. So, I still showed up. If a door was left open for me, I would walk in. If it was shut in my face, I would walk away.”
Her story has sparked conversations about the treatment of young women in the industry, with fans applauding her courage. She summed up her resilience with a powerful reflection: “I needed to stop walking through the doors and start breaking down the walls.”
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