Actor Uche Edochie took to Instagram on Sunday to celebrate his father, veteran Nollywood actor Pete Edochie, who turned 76 years old.
In his birthday tribute, Uche, who is 48 years old, reflected on his childhood. He talked about how strict his father was with him and his siblings when they were growing up. Also, he praised his father’s discipline, saying that such “no-nonsense” men are becoming rare in today’s society. He further claimed such men are often labelled as “toxic“.
Uche then shared a hypothetical scenario. He imagined what his father’s reaction would be if he came home as a teenager and revealed that he had changed his gender identity. Although he did not explicitly state his own views, his words implied that his father’s reaction would be disapproving.
Uche wrote in his post,
The generation of no nonsense men are a dying breed because society won’t let them be great. If I had gone home at 18 to say I changed my gender identity, my father would have calmly referred me to my mother to deal with me. Happy 76th birthday to my father, mentor, and legend, Chief Pete Edochie!”
The post sparked mixed reactions from Uche’s followers. Some commended him for celebrating his father and others criticised him for appearing to be unsupportive of transgender people.
