Famous Nigerian entertainer Charly Boy has opened up about how his interactions with homosexual and transgender people influenced his sense of style and creative direction.
Charly Boy talked about his early fashion choices on the “With Chude” podcast, which raised questions about his sexual orientation.
He clarified that many people misconstrued his androgynous appearance in the 1980s and 90s, complete with cosmetics and daring wardrobe choices.
Charly Boy credited his penchant for the dramatic to the transsexual acquaintances he made while living in America.
Although he didn’t identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, he admired their confidence and expressiveness.
Charly Boy emphasized that his associations with LGBTQ+ individuals enhanced his trendsetting spirit.
“Why was your first look effeminate, for lack of a better word? What was behind that choice?”Jideonwo asked.
Charly Boy said:
“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.’”
“I wasn’t one but I just loved them; I loved how they switched so I used to study them”
“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”
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”.
