Comedienne, Helen Paul Reveals Stigma She Faced While Growing Up

Popular Nigerian comedienne, Helen Paul, has narrated how she overcame the societal stigma she faced while growing up.

LEADERSHIP Sunday recalls  that Helen Paul had a few years ago revealed that she was born out of rape.

Speaking in a viral clip on social media, she said some family members even referred to her as a “bastard” who would not achieve anything good in life.

“Some of us can’t take rejection. Some of us don’t know that our words can make someone feel rejected forever but it worked for me differently.

“I was born out of rape and I grew up with my grandmother, where everyone in the area called me a bastard. So I grew up hearing that I’m a bastard.

“When my aunties come to give grandma money for feeding, they will say ‘Don’t use this money to take care of one bastard child, use it to take care of yourself and buy your medicine’.

“Once they leave, mama would turn to me and speak in pidgin ‘you don hear wetin dem aunty dem dey talk, na so this world be o. Na people wey suppose be your mama blood be that oh but dem don tell you who you be. If you like, grow up, forget yourself, say if person no do well, nobody they celebrate ham’.

“But I realize that anytime I offended Mama, she would not want to touch me because they have warned Mama not to beat me. So you think a child looking at different talk will grow up with love?

“But today, I am a comedian in Nigeria and a professor in the United States.”