Veteran entertainer and social commentator, Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, has opened up on how he came to terms with the sexuality of his two daughters, saying he has learnt that adult children cannot be controlled by their parents.
Charly Boy said he initially struggled with the revelation, but eventually chose to prioritise his relationship with his daughters and their happiness.
He made the revelation in an exclusive interview with Saturday Beats published by PUNCH Newspaper, which OrijoReporter obtained.
According to him, both daughters now identify as lesbians, with his younger daughter coming out years ago and his older daughter revealing her sexuality more recently.
Charly Boy said his reaction was not initially easy, particularly because of his concerns about his daughters having children.
He, however, said he eventually realised that his daughters were adults capable of making decisions about their own lives.
The entertainer said he had tried to explain to people that there was little a parent could do to control the choices of a woman in her 50s.
He said his older daughter had already built a family, having six children and a great-grandchild, before deciding she preferred women.
For Charly Boy, the major issue was no longer trying to dictate his daughters’ choices but ensuring they were happy and responsible for their lives.
He said he did not want constant conflict with his children and had therefore adopted a more open approach to fatherhood.
Charly Boy added that his experience had also changed the way he viewed parenting younger generations.
He said parents could advise millennials and Gen Z children, but could no longer rely on the old practice of commanding or beating them into obedience.
“The days of beating and commanding are gone and can’t come back,” he said.
The entertainer also admitted that he still had mixed feelings about his daughters’ sexuality, saying he would have preferred that his younger daughter had children before making her decision.
Despite that, he maintained that love remained central to his relationship with his children.
Charly Boy’s latest comments are not the first time he has spoken publicly about the issue. In 2020, he disclosed that it took him months to come to terms with his younger daughter’s sexuality, admitting that the revelation initially triggered concerns about stigma, religion and whether he had done something wrong.
He later said he had become grateful for the experience and maintained that having a lesbian child did not mean a parent had failed.
Away from his family, Charly Boy also spoke warmly about his relationship with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, describing him as both a friend and a father figure.
He said the relationship developed naturally and that the two sometimes speak for several hours, including conversations about religion and life.
Charly Boy said he speaks with Obasanjo regularly and turns to him for advice when trying to make sense of difficult situations.
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