Veteran Nigerian entertainer, Charly Boy has opened up about how living with gay and transgender people influenced his personal style and artistic expression.
The singer reflected on his early looks and the speculations surrounding his expression.
Charly Boy opened up about his fashion choices from the 80s and 90s, noting that his feminine outlook became the subject of discussion back then, leading to speculations about his sexuality.
“I used to have a girly girl look back in the day, I used to wear a lot of rouge, makeup, lipstick, and whatever, and that’s where the gay speculations started. People thought that I was that way inclined until my friend, Tina looked at me and was like, ‘Nah, you need something more macho, more masculine.'”
Charly Boy
Charly Boy revealed that during his last years in America, most of his friends were transvestites: people who dressed in clothes primarily associated with the other sex.
“I wasn’t one but I just loved them; I loved how they switched so I used to study them,” he clarified.
“If you remember that on the Charly Boy Show, I had this character called Linda, my alter ego. That was easy for me to do because I had been around bi, gay, and transgender people, so I picked all the nuances from that.”
Charly Boy
The singer asserted that even though being around his fluid friends greatly influenced his personality, he had always seen himself as a trendsetter.
“I love being myself, I love to stand out, I don’t want to follow trends; I prefer to start my own trends; and do my own thing. That’s how I felt right from the day I was born, wanting to go through another way.”
Charly Boy
Singer Discloses Shocking Truth About His 7-Year Struggles
Charly Boy, Born Charles Oputa, has long been known for his rebellious spirit, his unconventional style, and his activism.
The 73-year-old opened up about the turbulent relationship he had with his father, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, and how his decision to pursue a music career exacerbated their tension.
Charly Boy’s journey into music was not a smooth one, especially when it came to his family. After returning from the United States in the late 1970s, where he had studied Communication and Media Studies, Charly Boy found himself financially broke and disillusioned.
He chose to move back to his ancestral village in Oguta, Imo State, where he spent seven years in poverty. This phase in his life, according to Charly Boy, severely impacted his sense of self-worth.
“I had disowned my parents. We were living in Owerri, and my parents moved to Lagos. I moved back to the village because I had just returned from America. I had no money, I had nothing. But that village robbed me of self-esteem.”
Charly Boy
This period marked a significant low in his life, where he not only distanced himself from his family but also grappled with deep emotional and psychological struggles. As the son of the revered Supreme Court Justice, Charly Boy’s decision to deviate from a traditional career path especially one in law or politics, created a deep rift between him and his father.
Justice Oputa, known for his strong principles and discipline, could not understand his son’s passion for music, which was seen as an unconventional and unstable profession. Their differences weren’t just about Charly Boy’s career choice but extended into their day-to-day interactions.
Charly Boy revealed that from a young age, he always had a rebellious streak. He questioned the rigid structure his father imposed on their household, which included strict schedules for eating, praying, and other daily routines.
This defiance often led to punishments, with Charly Boy recalling that he was frequently whipped and disciplined more than his siblings.
Despite the friction, Charly Boy acknowledged that his father had instilled in him a crucial lesson: to question everything and seek the truth. This principle of “query and investigate everything” was at the core of many of their disagreements.
Charly Boy’s refusal to conform to societal expectations and his desire to forge his own path whether through his music, activism, or lifestyle choices was rooted in this lesson from his father, even though it often placed them at odds.
The tension between father and son eventually reached a turning point after years of vocal battles and heated exchanges. Charly Boy shared a particularly transformative moment that reshaped their relationship.
Instead of reacting to his father’s anger as he normally would, Charly Boy chose a different approach.
“One day, I came to him as usual to talk about something close to my mind. He started screaming and shouting and I did not shout back. I did not say anything. I listened to him very attentively.”
Charly Boy
His father was surprised by his son’s calm demeanor and lack of reaction. After his father finished, Charly Boy calmly asked, “Daddy, I have listened to you, can you listen to me now?” This moment, according to Charly Boy, marked a turning point in their relationship. “That was the last day he shouted at me. That was the day everything changed because I found a new way of dealing with this man,” he added.
In later years, their relationship continued to evolve, with Charly Boy taking on the responsibility of caring for his aging parents. After Justice Oputa retired, Charly Boy brought both his parents to live with him in Abuja, where they stayed for nearly 15 years until their deaths.
Reflecting on this period, he described it as one of the most significant roles of his life. “The greatest job I had was to take care of them,” he said.
READ ALSO: MTN Ghana and NewGold ETF Drive GSE Index Down Despite Impressive Year-to-Date Gains
