chidera eggerue, florence given, the slumflower

Here’s the latest on The Slumflower vs Florence Given drama

Chidera has posted screenshots of a conversation between her and Florence

| UPDATED

The social media saga involving Chidera Eggerue (aka The Slumflower) and Florence Given has only intensified over the past few days. Chidera has made more statements on her Instagram stories in light of her claims that Florence stole her book concept.

Chidera claimed that Florence’s new book, Women Don’t Owe You Pretty, ‘”looks the same” as her 2018 book, What a Time To Be Alone.

But the controversy has continued as Chidera has made lots of comments on her Instagram stories and posted screenshots of WhatsApp conversations between herself and Florence.

Chidera Eggerue posted on a WhatsApp conversation between the two from June

Chidera and Florence appear to have had a back and forth conversation in June about the alleged similarity between their books, which Chidera posted on her Instagram story this weekend. Chidera pointed towards the “similar front cover style” and her feelings of “pressure of coming across as a tyrant for calling out being copied…”

In a foreshadowing of the claims to surface months later, Chidera specifically stated: “I feel a lot of my sentiments and style of delivery have been gentrified and put in your book.”

chidera eggerue, florence given, the slumflower

Annotating the screenshots, Chidera said: “For everyone asking why I am only just speaking up now, I already spoke to Floss in June. She just carried on.

“Black women know this feeling allllll too well, don’t we?”

Ultimately, the screenshots suggest that their conversation did not end well.

chidera eggerue, florence given, the slumflower

Florence responded to Chidera saying: “You’ve outright denied my entire reality, multiple times in your messages.”

chidera eggerue, florence given, the slumflower

Chidera shared an email sent to her by her now-former publisher, claiming they dropped her

Chidera posted a screenshot of an email from her publisher – who she shared with Florence – informing her that her contract is ending early. She explained: “I amicably ended my contract with Diving Bell with a 3 months notice back in October. We still had till mid-January to work together and we had even done some jobs together during this remaining 3 month period.

“They decided to terminate my contract on Thursday.”

These statements reflect what appears to be a strained relationship between Chidera and her former management, with Chidera and Diving Bell removing each other from their respective websites’

chidera eggerue, florence given, the slumflower

Florence Given’s management – also Diving Bell – made a brief comment on their Instagram stories concerning the issues and wished Chidera “the best”.

They also stated that while they worked with Chidera, they “relentlessly championed the importance of her voice and believed in her work”

chidera eggerue, florence given, the slumflower

credit: @divingbellgroup

Chidera Eggerue says people watching her Instagram stories have  ‘bystander energy’

Beyond this, Florence still has her contract and book deal and Chidera does not. Chidera has also expressed her frustration with her “roster peers” being quiet on social media while watching her stories:

“Somehow, my roster peers have all gone quiet,” she wrote. “The same activists and change makers suddenly won’t address the dumpster fire in their own back garden. They’re all just watching a black woman on their roster go through this alone.”

chidera eggerue, florence given, the slumflower

She made more comments about the disparity between her Instagram story views from the debacle and the support she wanted: “I’m seriously disappointed in every single one of you for choosing to keep quiet through this. Black women really have no solidarity anywhere.”

Featured image: @florencegiven @theslumflower

Related stories recommended by this writer:

A rundown of everything that’s happened between The Slumflower and Florence Given

26 books every feminist should read before the age of 26

This photographer has documented 16 women’s experiences of sexual harassment at uni