Award-winning Ghanaian singer Kidi has stirred up intense public debate following controversial remarks he made about women’s sexual history during a podcast appearance. The ‘Touch It’ and ‘Cheat On You’ hitmaker expressed strong personal views on how a woman’s number of past sexual partners — commonly referred to as “body count” — influences his decision on whether to pursue a serious relationship or marriage.
Kidi made these comments while speaking on the latest episode of Rants, Bants and Confessions, a Ghanaian podcast popular among Gen Z audiences for its frank conversations on relationships, youth culture, and societal issues.
Kidi: “It matters if she’s going to be mine”
During the discussion, one of the podcast hosts posed a question that has long sparked debate in both traditional and modern circles: “When it comes to body counts, does it matter how many men a woman has been with?”
In response, Kidi distinguished between casual flings and committed relationships, stating he has no issue being intimate with a woman who has a high body count — but that marrying such a person is another matter entirely.
“If you are just having a good time, we are having fun, I don’t care,” he began. “But if you are somebody I am going to be calling mine, it matters.”
He went on to explain his stance further, adding, “I don’t want to walk into a space and all the guys there are looking at me somehow because they have history with the woman I am with. I don’t want a woman who has slept with too many men.”
“A degraded version of yourself”
The co-hosts pressed him further, asking him to clarify what he meant. One co-host directly challenged his statement: “How are you meeting a degraded version of the person?”
Kidi responded candidly: “By the time I get there, you have given yourself emotionally to 50 men who have all obviously done you wrongs in some way because you are still single; that means 50 people that you have been with did not work.”
The singer argued that relationships, whether short-lived or long-term, leave emotional imprints and, in his words, “take a part of you.” According to him, these experiences — when repeated frequently — can leave a person emotionally fragmented.
“We all know that when you give yourself to people, after it didn’t work, you shed a part of you,” he explained. “There is some bit of you that you shed when you leave somebody. You go to the next person, you shed some part of you again, and repeat. Because you learn something from there. If you’ve shed 50 bits of you, what is left for me?”
Backlash and Online Reactions
Kidi’s comments quickly went viral, prompting a flood of reactions across social media platforms. While some fans echoed his sentiments, applauding him for being honest about his preferences, others accused the artist of promoting harmful stereotypes and holding women to a double standard.
“He’s basically admitting he can sleep with them, but won’t wife them? That’s the definition of hypocrisy,” one X (formerly Twitter) user wrote.
Another commenter added: “This kind of thinking is why women still get shamed for doing the same things men openly do and even brag about.”
However, defenders of Kidi said the singer was merely stating a personal preference and that everyone has the right to decide what they want in a life partner.
“This isn’t misogyny. It’s a preference. Let’s stop pretending everyone must think alike,” one person commented on Instagram.
Experts Weigh In
Relationship experts have long debated the social and emotional impacts of so-called “body counts,” and whether the concept has any real bearing on future relationship success. Many argue that emotional maturity, communication, and values are far more critical than past experiences.
“This line of thinking often stems from outdated cultural expectations that disproportionately judge women’s sexual agency,” said Ghanaian relationship coach Anita Ofori in an interview with Africalivenews. “What’s troubling is the notion that a woman becomes ‘less’ simply because she has had past relationships — something that would rarely be used to disqualify a man.”
Ofori continued: “People grow through experience, and healing is possible. What matters is the emotional intelligence and values someone brings into a relationship — not how many people they’ve dated or slept with.”
A Wider Cultural Conversation
Kidi’s remarks touch on a wider societal discussion currently happening not just in Ghana but across Africa and the diaspora, especially among younger generations. As sexual openness and freedom continue to evolve, particularly on digital platforms, there remains a tension between traditional beliefs and modern relationship dynamics.
The discourse reflects ongoing gender double standards in conversations about sexuality, with many observers urging for a more balanced, empathetic, and respectful approach to such personal topics.
Kidi Has Yet to Issue Further Comment
As the backlash grows, Kidi has yet to issue a follow-up statement regarding his comments. Whether he will walk back his remarks or clarify them further remains to be seen.
For now, the conversation he sparked continues to trend across Ghanaian social media and beyond, highlighting how conversations about intimacy, identity, and personal values continue to shape contemporary relationships.
