Actress Angela Okorie has explained why she burned the outfit she wore to the burial of the late actor Alexx Ekubo, a move that drew a flurry of reactions online. The Angela Okorie video, shared on her Instagram Story, showed the clothing on fire and prompted a wide debate about funeral customs.
What Angela Okorie said
According to the actress, a godmother advised her that clothes worn to burial ceremonies should not be kept but burned. She said the decision was based on guidance from a spiritual authority figure she trusts. The clip, posted on Sunday, was accompanied by her explanation of the practice.
She framed the act as following counsel rather than a personal whim, presenting it as a tradition she had been told to observe. Her account positioned the gesture within a belief system about garments worn in the presence of the dead, a topic that means different things to different communities.
A divided reaction
The post split opinion. Some social media users criticised the actress, describing the act as unnecessary or as a bid for online attention, with a few calling it selective superstition. Others defended her, arguing that discarding funeral garments is rooted in cultural tradition and that the choice was hers to make.
The exchange reflected how quickly personal decisions by public figures can become talking points. For a celebrity with a large following, even a brief story clip can ignite debate, drawing in those who share the belief and those who reject it. Viorah TV is reporting the episode without endorsing any view.
Remembering Alexx Ekubo
The context is the passing of Alexx Ekubo, a well-known figure in Nigerian entertainment, who was laid to rest on 18 June in Arochukwu, Abia State. His burial drew colleagues and admirers, and the period of mourning has featured many tributes from across the industry.
Funerals of prominent entertainers often bring the wider community together and become moments of shared reflection. In that setting, the conversations that follow, including the one prompted by the actress, can reveal differing attitudes toward grief, ritual and remembrance within Nigerian society.
Customs and belief
Practices around clothing worn to funerals vary widely across cultures and faiths. In some traditions, such garments are kept; in others, they are cleansed or discarded. There is no single rule, which helps explain why a personal choice can read very differently depending on a viewer’s own background and beliefs.
For now, the actress has offered her reason and left it at that, while audiences continue to weigh in. The discussion is less about a single outfit than about how communities handle the rituals of mourning. Viorah TV will keep its coverage neutral and respectful of the bereaved.
The episode also highlights the pressures that come with a large online following, where private gestures quickly become public spectacle. Some observers noted that grief itself can be intensely personal, and that mourners often turn to inherited customs for comfort in difficult moments. Whether viewers agreed with the actress or not, many used the moment to share their own family traditions around death and burial, turning a brief clip into a broader exchange about how Nigerians honour those they have lost.
