Curtis Oliver has publicly condemned the wave of mockery aimed at fellow artist Olatunji, saying a video he saw on Friday morning “hit me very, very hard.” In an emotional Facebook video, Oliver asked where Olatunji’s team, friends, radio DJs and fellow artists are, questioning why they have not rallied around him.
Oliver made clear he is not a close personal friend of Olatunji, but he knew the artist’s parents and met Olatunji about twice. He described Olatunji as a talented cultural ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago who has represented the twin island worldwide and travelled globally spreading the culture.
What pains Oliver, he said, is not Olatunji himself because everyone goes through something, but the response and comments under posts laughing at the artist. He said the mockery hurt him as a fellow artist.
Oliver referenced a past episode of the Corey Shepard podcast where Wendy Fitzwilliam spoke about a tendency in Trinidad and Tobago to build people up and then laugh when they fall. He repeated that question: where are the people in the industry, where are those who have been around Olatunji, where is his team, where are the radio DJs, where are his friends, where are the artists?
Oliver suggested Olatunji may be going through something and might just need someone to talk to. He called for people to lift Olatunji up as a brother in the art form, rather than leave him alone in his thoughts. He also mentioned his own song, TNT Love, saying it reflects the need for togetherness and kindness, not laughing at people’s demise.
Article and image source: facebook.com