A Nigerian Twitter user, @praiseoghre, has accused singer Olajuwlllonlo Iledare, better known as Jaywon, of allegedly sponsoring a social media smear campaign aimed at tarnishing the reputation of his younger colleague, Oyinkansola Aderibigbe, also known as Ayra Starr.
The Mavin signee trended over the weekend as multiple memes surfaced, suggesting she had bad breath. However, Praise claimed that she received a direct message from an unnamed source offering ₦10,000 per post to share unflattering pictures of Ayra Starr with claims that she stinks or has bad breath.
She wrote:
“When I first noticed that Ayra Starr is trending, I thought it was just a typical occurrence. However, someone—whom I won’t mention—messaged me, asking me to post a picture of her with an agenda that she stinks for 10k per picture.”
Supporting her claims, another well-known Twitter user, @drpenking, shared a lengthy post addressing the troubling nature of the trend.
He wrote:
“Recently, several pictures have been flying around of people allegedly ‘holding their nose’ around Ayra Starr—all meant to suggest she has bad breath or poor hygiene. What initially seemed like ‘typical internet banter’ quickly turned into a disturbing discovery after Praise’s revelation.”
“Let that sink in: someone is paying people to bully Ayra Starr. This goes beyond trolling. This is a paid, organized, and malicious attempt to embarrass and dehumanize a young woman who has done NOTHING to deserve this treatment,” he continued.
Calling the trend “devilish,” Penking questioned why anyone would invest money to shame a young artist who simply “minds her business with her quarter-yard mini skirt and gives us good music.”
“We must do better. We can’t normalize weaponizing clout and coins to tear down people who are just trying to live their dreams. Protect Ayra Starr,” he added.
The two stars, Jaywon and Ayra Starr, had a falling out in 2024 after fans accused Jaywon of mocking her for not receiving a Grammy nomination. The former Kennis music signee stated that he and Ayra Starr were not on good terms.
He expressed disappointment that Ayra Starr and her management chose not to address the trolling but instead cashed in on the situation. He said:
“We took a picture and it went viral, you and your team never said anything about it. The only thing your management did was to promote the picture back to back. Nobody is dumb.”
Netizens Reactions:
@DanielRegha:“There’s cruise/bants, and there’s hate; What’s being done to Ayra Starr is a well-calculated hate. Enough.”
@Wizarab10:“What you people are doing to Ayra Starr is uncalled for… The agenda is tarnishing her image and brand unprovoked and it is unfair. You are going too far. Just STOP.”
@BENNY7GG:“But why the sudden agenda against Ayra Starr? All she does is drop good music and mind her business.”
@bigHotbaby1 passionately:“Spreading lies that Ayra Starr has body odor and mouth odor is just vile. You all are wicked. One day it’ll be your fave. Leave our female artists alone!”
@KontentSensei:“Many will never know what it feels like to be famous and still targeted with lies the way Ayra Starr is. This is painful.”
@Veetoria_12:“All Ayra Starr does is vibe and mind her business. This bullying is too much, abeg.”