Popular Nigerian gospel artist Mercy Chinwo has publicly accused her former manager, Ezekiel ThankGod, also known as Eezeetee, of spreading false rumors about her son.
The accusations come after Mercy and her husband, Pastor Blessed Uzochikwa, welcomed their first child, a baby boy, on October 28, 2023. Shortly after, rumors emerged that the child was fathered by another well-known gospel singer, Nathaniel Bassey.
In an emotional video shared on social media on Tuesday, Mercy addressed the allegations and directly blamed her former manager for being the source of the false claims.
Mercy also mentioned that Ezekiel’s animosity toward certain individuals in the gospel music community caused tension in their working relationship. She claimed he pressured her to align with his personal grievances.
Read her full statement below: “Hello everyone, it’s your girl, Mercy Chinwo.”
“First, I want to say thank you to every one of you for your immense love and support. I never believed the day would come when I would sit here to share my story. But for the sake of the body of Christ, I feel it is necessary to bring some clarity to a lot of misleading news circulating online about the Message Brand.”
“A man came online and claimed I sued him. He made videos to tarnish my image. He looked at me and said, “I made you who you are, and I will destroy you.” This made me fearful for my life. Things got so bad that I had to move from Lagos to Port Harcourt because he made the environment toxic for me.”
“I have endured bullying and threats, and whatever he is doing on social media now is nothing compared to what I went through while working with him. This is not an attempt to paint him as a bad person, but the truth must be told.”
“He took me to court and then came online to falsely tell the public that I was the one who took him to court. Here are the documents to prove it—you took me and Minister Judy to court, yet you’re playing the victim.”
“You bullied me, threatened my life, and told me repeatedly, “I made you who you are, and I will destroy you.” You have gone through several lawyers because you said you would “deal with me.” What did I ever do to deserve this? I took you as a father figure. I was once your backup singer, and I served you diligently.”
“We signed a management contract in 2017, but as we progressed, you tried to force me to sign a 12-year contract, which I refused. From that point on, your attitude toward me changed—you became toxic and controlling. After my initial contract ended, you went ahead and forged a new one without my consent.”
“Please tell the world what happened to the 2017 and 2019 contracts. You withheld my royalties for two years! You are a bully and an oppressor. One of my so-called “crimes” was collaborating on a song with Pastor Nathaniel Bassey. You hated him so much that you went as far as sponsoring fake news about my son, claiming he wasn’t my biological child.”
“You also paid bloggers to spread lies because you hate Pastor Jerry Eze and didn’t want me to attend his event. You forced me to fight with the people you didn’t like, and whenever I questioned you, you harassed and threatened me.”
“You are not God, and you cannot destroy me. You may have bloggers on your side, but I have God on mine. The worst you can do is what you are doing now. However, I know that God’s plans for me are good and not evil,” she concluded.
