Nigerian artist Adekunle Gold has shared his experience of being ridiculed on the internet after going public with his sickle cell illness. After making this admission, the ‘Orente’ crooner said he was “attacked and abused” on social media. Adekunle Gold stated in a recent interview with CNN that he made the decision to raise awareness about sickle cell disease after finding the bravery to speak up.
The singer declared that his goal is to help sickle cell patients feel “secure.” He declared:
“I want people living with sickle cell to feel safe, to feel like they have help and support.
“They call you a sickler… Recently, when I talked about it [my struggle with sickle cell] on the song [‘5-star’], I saw a lot of tweets from people attacking and abusing me.
“I’m speaking about sickle cell disease now because I just got the courage to come out and speak up openly about it. A lot of people can’t share their stories like I can.”
Adekunle Gold stated that he has known about his disease since he was a young boy and that he frequently exposed himself to unhealthy environments as a child. He remembered:
“I’ve known about my sickle cell disease all my life. I knew since I was a child that I couldn’t do certain things. They said, ‘You know you have sickle cell, you can’t play football in the rain just like your peers.’ And I was like, ‘No, I want to play.’ I’ve always been rebellious”.
“I’ve known about my sickle cell disease all my life because growing up, I had crises every time. I was in the hospital back-to-back.
“As a child, I constantly put myself in situations that made me sick. And it affected me a lot. For example, I’m not supposed to be in the rain, so what happened to me was that I would have pains in my joints from being in the rain. But I always knew that I didn’t want this thing [sickle cell] to define me.”
Adekunle Gold’s experience living with sickle cell disease serves as a potent reminder of how crucial empathy, compassion, and knowledge are to eradicating stigma. Despite early criticism, he shared his story to initiate conversations, increase awareness, and dispel myths about chronic disease. His activism acts as a catalyst for others to come forward, look for help, and strive toward building a culture that is more accepting and understanding. Let us all endeavor to create a community where people with chronic illnesses feel accepted, encouraged, and enabled to enjoy life to the fullest as we continue to learn from the brave example set by Adekunle Gold.
