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James Brown (internet personality)
Nigerian social media personality From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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James Chukwueze Obialor, popularly known as James Brown, is a Nigerian internet personality and content creator who is part of the LGBTQ community in Nigeria.[1]
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In 2018, Brown was one of 57 young men arrested on charges of homosexuality at a birthday party in a hotel in Egbeda, a suburb of Lagos (homosexuality is illegal in Nigeria; see LGBTQ rights in Nigeria).[2] The police displayed the arrested men in front of news media to humiliate them.[3] While most stayed quiet,[4] Brown spoke up to the media to describe his arrest as unfair, including saying that he was a dancer hired to perform at the party,[2] and that the police had no evidence he had committed a crime.[5] His speech, including his phrase "they didn't caught me", became part of viral videos about the incident.[6][7] He and others were imprisoned for a month in the Ikoyi Correctional Facility.[8][9] His bold public reaction to his arrest brought him significant media attention, along with support from Bobrisky, who is a Nigerian transgender woman and social media personality.[10][11] The cases against him and the other arrested men were dismissed by a court in 2020.[12][13]
The 2021 documentary The Legend of the Underground, about LGBTQ+ people in Nigeria, featured Brown among others.[5][14] It follows the story of his legal case and his choice to turn media attention into visibility for himself on social media as a gender non-conforming person.[3] Brown has said he identifies with and stands up for LGBT people.[15] He has been noted and criticized as a visible Nigerian cross dresser.[16][17] His father has also been criticized.[18]
Brown has a significant audience on social media.[19] His content includes videos of him dancing.[20][21] He made a viral video with comedian Viral TV in 2019.[22] Brown released a single titled "Hey Dulings" in 2021 after a catchphrase he uses to address his fans on social media.[23] He wrote an autobiography in 2022, The Chronicles of an African Princess.[24] In 2024, he acted in a Nollywood web series titled Hotel Palava.[25]
Brown has described himself as a drag queen and comedian[26] who plays a feminine role as entertainment, rather than a cross dresser.[27][28] In 2022, the Nigerian House of Representatives introduced a bill to prohibit cross dressing, as an amendment to the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2013.[29] Brown said the bill would not apply to him because of its exception for public entertainment.[26][30]
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Personal life
Brown said that he started cross-dressing when he was a child.[31] He said he is a man with an "effeminate character".[32] In 2022 he said he had a girlfriend.[27]
In 2018, Brown said he had been infected with HIV at birth,[33][34] but retracted this claim in 2020.[35]
Brown said he went to the United Kingdom to study business at a university[36] but left due to the cost.[37]
Brown and Bobrisky have had public disagreements reported on by the media.[38][39]
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See also
- Bobrisky – Nigerian transgender woman (born 1991)
- Fola Francis – Nigerian transgender model (1994–2023)
- Jay Boogie – Nigerian transgender woman (born 1998)
- Miss Sahhara – Nigerian beauty queen and LGBTQ advocate
- Noni Salma – Nigerian transgender woman
References
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