Having endured widespread condemnation of her appearance, BBNaija star, Angel Smith, has argued that intelligence is not measured by tattoos or dressing in a certain way.
Angel who appeared in the Shine Ya Eye edition of the show and came 5th, addressed Nigerians who misjudged her because of the way she dressed while on the show.
Speaking with The PUNCH, Angel said, “Those that did not see the intelligent side of me chose not to do so. It was always obvious in the conversations I had. However, a lot of Nigerians like to stereotype. They were rather focused on my dressing, my tattoos and how I choose to represent myself physically. It (intelligence) was always there and if people are just getting to see it now, it means in their terms, I’m starting to dress better. Everyone has been talking about how there has been a change in the way I dress since the reunion.”
Responding to a question on whether she feels the need to dress in a certain way to be respected, she said, “Honestly, I feel like the quote, ‘Dress the way you want to be addressed’, leads to a whole lot of other issues such as sexual assault. Even people who cover their bodies completely get raped; so, I don’t believe in that statement. I feel that statement only encourages more acts like rape. I do not judge people based on how they look. Even the #EndSARS protests stemmed from police officers stereotyping young Nigerians because of the way they dressed, as well as for having tattoos and dreadlocks.”
On how she has been able to stay relevant after the show, Angel said, “I feel that ‘doing well’ is relative. Some people appear successful on social media but are not doing well in reality. I don’t think there is anything I do that is out of the ordinary. I still party and have fun, and I am still the same Angel, though there is some growth in certain areas of my life as I am getting older. Most importantly, God has been on my side.”
Advising prospective housemates of the new season of the show which will start airing in two weeks, she said, “My advice to them is that they should go there and be authentic. That is the advice I gave myself, and that is the same thing I will tell fresh contestants.”
Angel, who is known to be close to her dad, also stated that their relationship had evolved over time. She said, “My relationship with my dad has always been rock solid. But, after BBN, things have been kind of shaky because he is a busy man and I am busy as well. We were very ‘chit-chatty’ before BBN. Now, most of our conversations are work-oriented, but we are still cool regardless. He will always be my biggest supporter.”
The reality TV star also stated that her relationship with her mum had got better. She said, “My mum and I are cool. As a matter of fact, she just left my house to return to Ghana. We had to work on our relationship and there were lots of growing up to do. However, our relationship is definitely better and we get along better.”
