Olaoluwa Segun, a content creator, has apologised to actress Dayo Amusa after falsely claiming she is living with HIV.
On Friday, Segun shared a video in which he listed five Nigerian actors he alleged were HIV positive.
Among those he mentioned were Hanks Anuku and Dayo Amusa.
Reacting via Instagram, Amusa clarified that she is HIV negative while explaining that she indeed made a post about her HIV status in 2019, but it was solely for educational purposes.
She expressed shock that Segun picked up the old post and falsely included her in a list of people said to be HIV positive without a proper investigation.
Amusa criticised the content creator for spreading the misinformation across social media platforms, questioning the lack of reasoning behind publishing such a “defamatory claim”.
“I want to address a video that has been going viral across all major social media platforms over the last 24 hours,” she said.
“This video was posted by someone I don’t know, but I started getting tagged in it, and I believe it relates to a post I made in 2019 regarding my HIV status, which was negative.
“The purpose of that post at the time was to educate people on the importance of knowing their HIV status. And even if, for any reason, you’re positive, it’s important to seek medical help and take the necessary steps. After all, it’s not the end of the world.
“It’s shocking that someone picked up on that post and enlisted me with others, claiming we are all HIV positive, without doing any proper investigation.
“This person went on to share the video on major platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X, where it has attracted several likes and comments
“Do people even use their brains when putting out content? Do you realise how far that video has travelled? Do you understand the level of defamation to my person and character caused by the falsehood you foolishly posted without fact-checking?”
She further threatened to make the content creator a “scapegoat” to serve as a warning to others who spread unverified information.
Amusa demanded proof of the source that claimed she is HIV positive, including the hospital or lab that allegedly confirmed it.
”I’m not going to let this slide. I’m to make you a scapegoat,” she added.
“Not because I find pleasure in doing it, but because that will teach you a lesson and some other stupid content creator and blogger that if you have to make a headline, verify, as questions before re putting people on the spot.
“You will make available where you got that information from that my HIV status is positive, you will make available the hospital or lab that confirmed it.”
In a statement, Segun explained that the mistake was made by his assistant during research and scripting, while admitting that the information included in the video was “inaccurate and misleading.”
He disclosed that the video has been removed from all platforms and assured that his content process will be reviewed to avoid similar errors, while apologising for the “confusion, embarrassment, or distress” the video may have caused Amusa.
“I want to sincerely apologise to Dayo Amusa for a serious error that occurred in one of my recent videos,” the statement reads.
“As a content creator, I often batch-create my videos and, in addition to my team, I have recently engaged an assistant who supports with research and scripting.
“Unfortunately, in one of those videos. I mentioned that Dayo Amusa had publicly discussed her HIV status. While it is true that she discussed it on a TVC program, she is, in fact, not positive.
“Listing her as a famous Nigerian living with HIV was completely untrue, and I now realise the information was inaccurate and misleading
“I take full responsibility for this mistake. It was never my intention to spread false information or cause any harm to her name, image, or reputation.
“As soon as I became aware of the error, I immediately took down the video from all platforms. I deeply regret any confusion, embarrassment, or distress this may have caused.
“I sincerely apologise for this oversight, and I’m reviewing my content process to ensure something like this never happens again.”
