Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola (Cuppy or DJ Cuppy), Nigerian disc jockey, producer and Artiste, recently took to Twitter to seek answers to an obviously disturbing puzzle as to the reason Zlatan Ibile (popular Nigerian musician) blocked her on social media for over 10 months.

To add to the twist, Zlatan publicly denied knowing Cuppy. This came as a shock given that he was featured by Cuppy in their hit track, Gelato. Undoubtedly, blocking Cuppy on social media as well as denying her in public sent the strongest signal that there must have been a serious underlying issue between the two.

No sooner than later, someone came on the scene to throw some light on the stage. Afeare Israel (Israel DMW), Davido’s aide made a brief remark hinting at the reason Zlatan probably moved on. Israel accused Cuppy of “using his (Zlatan) head” by denying him some worthy earnings from their collaboration.

Cuppy threatens court action

The revelation by Israel did not go down well with Cuppy who has now threatened a court action based on “libel and defamation.”

For the record… There have been no breaches of my contractual agreement regarding the song #Gelato as confirmed by lawyers… However, as @IsrealDMW publicly inaccurately declared I owe an artist money, I am suing him for libel and defamation!

See you in court Isreal. pic.twitter.com/4fvwIyuzMB

— Cuppy ? (@cuppymusic) February 1, 2021

Let me quickly note that libel is a category of defamation. So, threatening to sue anyone for libel AND defamation is a misnomer. The other category of defamation is slander. While libel has to do with defamatory remarks reduced in writing, slander is oral. Defamation itself is simply a remark that injures the reputation of someone else, thereby reducing the person’s  reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public.

Cuppy claims that Israel defamed her character and person by his narration. Below is precisely what Israel was alleged to have said in relation to the issue:

Kudos to someone like Zlatan, who took a bold step by flushing a FULL FAKE FRIEND LIKE CUPPY who was just USING HIS HEAD all in the name of my papa na Otedola. Zlatan did a hit collabo with her, ordinary one kobo, he no see. She also took Zlatan to Abuja for her fundraising where she made billions of naira and didn’t even remember Zee for one kobo until tomorrow. No accommodation, no feeding. Zlatan had to even spend his own personal money at Transcorp Hilton to carter for everyone including me. Dis na 2021 abeg.

Few points to note

While we leave the issue for the courts to ultimately determine, a few points are worthy of note.

One of the defences to a claim of defamation is justification. This means that if the things said about a person are actually true, the person cannot succeed in an action for defamation. DJ Cuppy needs to copy that. Therefore, close attention needs to be paid to the remarks by Israel. However, if Israel’s remarks are proved to be false or remains unproved, Israel would be liable for damages. 

Going to court in Nigeria is not like licking a cup of Gelato. Without prejudice to the rights of Cuppy to approach the court at anytime, it may be more ideal for her to consider other ways of resolving the issues within the industry. A look at most of the reactions that trailed Cuppy’s threat to proceed to court will reveal that such action has the capacity to cause disaffection among her fans. When critically considered, it is doubtful if a court action can conveniently clear her of Israel’s allegations. An amicable method of resolving the issues is most ideal in the circumstances instead of litigation. An amicable resolution (coupled with a clear statement and a few “giveaways”) is the confirmed magic wand that will smoothly deal with the situation and keep her on track within the entertainment industry. Litigation with all the animosity that accompanies it will not do her brand any good.

Featured Image Credit: Linda Ikeji