Grammy award-winning Nigerian singer, Tems (Temilade Openiyi) became talk-of-the-town after Hollywood’s biggest night for the 95th Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Perhaps, no one saw this coming. Not Dunsin Wright or Tems herself. No celebrity was slapped but few faces had to bend their neck to see the whole event.
Styled by Dunsin Wright, Tems’ wore a white floor-length gown from Lever Couture, Ukrainian designer. What made her appearance hit like a viral song was the featured headpiece wrapped around the back of her head.
It was Tems Oscar debut as a nominee for her writing credit on Lift Me Up from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. Anyone would love to appear grand on such a night.
While at the “red” carpet, everyone was charmed by the floor-length gown. During the actual Awards ceremony in the hall, the headpiece dubbed as Nigerian gele fashion obstructed the view of people behind her.
The charm faded and people were quick to criticize. Some said the outfit choice was “rude“ and “unattractive”. But that was after the red carpet.
This led to a social media outrage. In her defense, fans pulled out Lady Gaga’s stunning outfit with similar headpiece at the Oscars in 2009.
“What’s the difference between the crazy outfits Lady Gaga used to wear before she was a global phenomenon and this?” A fan countered on Twitter.
“Bad design here. The designer is the one who should be held accountable for this. A simple design tweak and that could have been removable during the show,” another said.
Tems didn’t get to win an Oscar but made quite a memorable appearance.
By Elijah Christopher
