The internet has been burning lately, and at the center of the fire are Tiwa Savage and Tyla. What should’ve been a closed chapter from Tyla’s old Breakfast Club interview suddenly got reheated, thanks to Tiwa’s apology on the Breakfast Club radio show.
To refresh your memory, Tyla once described herself as “coloured,” (on the same Breakfast Club), which in South Africa is a cultural identity with its own history, but in America it’s a word that drips with pain. Tyla already explained herself—she’s coloured at home, Black abroad, and very aware of the baggage—but the online crowd wasn’t ready to let it go. Then in waltzes Tiwa, sitting on the Breakfast Club couch, apologizing “on behalf of Tyla” to anyone who felt hurt. Sweet? Maybe. Necessary? That’s where the tea spilled.
South Africans online didn’t hesitate to clap back. To them, Tiwa’s move felt like an overreach—like an auntie speaking for the girl who never asked to be spoken for. Tyla had her own words, her own clarity, and her own agency. So why was Tiwa apologizing for something that wasn’t hers to fix? Instead of quelling the storm, the apology lit the gossip cycle all over again.
And here’s the juicy bit: Tyla herself hasn’t bothered to issue another grand statement after Tiwa’s apology. Why would she? Her earlier words already covered it. Which leaves Tiwa’s apology hanging in the air, less like a peace offering and more like a reminder that sometimes trying to save someone else’s image can make the mess even messier.
