Chude Jideonwo, the founder of Joy Incredible Limited and host of the viral TV show, #WithChude, took to his Instagram page on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, to share what led to the creation of the talk show.
He said this while sharing what he learnt from his conversation with Pastor Bolaji Idowu of Harvesters International Christian Centre.
In 2017, after suffering backlash and trending on Twitter for days because of his political choice, Chude stumbled upon Oprah and Brene’s conversation on courage.
On the situation that led to that point, he shared, “I woke up one of those mornings and picked up my phone to find out ‘what are they saying this morning?’ It was horrendous.
So I called a team member. I said, ‘Why do they hate me so much?’ He encouraged me, but he wasn’t really speaking to me. So I went to YouTube, and I searched for ‘what to do when people hate you’.
The conversation that came up was a conversation between Oprah and Brene Brown on Super Soul Sunday. I listened to the conversation between Oprah and Brene, talking about courage, what to do when you’re in the arena, and people are attacking you.
And I tell you, it healed me, it spoke to me, it just covered me. And I said to myself, ‘Wow!’ I said, ‘Wow, I want to have this same kind of conversation. I want somebody to wake up one day and watch my show and feel seen, heard, and covered.’
“And that’s where this show came from. It literally came from a place of deep, deep, deep alienation and pain. When I think of the many important things that have happened in my life, many of the most important things in my life have come out of pain,” he added.
The talk show has been running for over 3 years and is currently ranked as one of the leading talk shows in the region.
Watch the excerpt here:
#WithChude is a network of media products across TV, Film and podcasts telling stories that enable and strengthen the mind, the heart, and the spirit.
The weekly interviews are widely syndicated across terrestrial television and social media platforms reaching an average of 8 million people weekly – positioning it as the most watched and most syndicated weekly talk show (digital + traditional) in the region.
It has become a safe space for guests to talk about things publicly for the first time. Actor Joke Silva revealed that her husband Olu Jacobs was dealing with dementia with Lewy body for the first time on the show, and producer Kemi Afolabi opened up about her experience dealing with Lupus on #WithChude.
That month, Lupus and Kemi Afolabi were among the top Google Nigeria searches. The interviews have been featured everywhere, from the BBC to the New York Times.
The documentary and travelogue series #ChudeExplains has tackled issues from criminal justice reform to Gen Z coming of age. The show launches the #WithChude Global series in 2023.
All past and new episodes of #WithChude can be watched at watch.withchude.com. You can also watch the premiere of new episodes every Saturday on Channels TV at 1 pm, with reruns every Sunday on Wazobia TV Channel 98 at 5 pm, and every Tuesday on Rave Tv at 5 pm.
An extended play podcast is up on listen.withchude.com, as well as on Apple Premium.
