If you’re like me, then you were in high school singing along to the lyrics to Tweet’s “Oops (Oh My)” without truly understanding the lyrics to the song — but it turns out the lyrics aren’t as salacious as many originally thought. While most people have always concluded that the song was about masturbation, Missy Elliott debunked that longheld theory earlier today.
After a fan posted a clip of the Hummingbird singer’s 2002 video on Twitter on Monday alongside the caption, “Tweet said masturbation but make it a bop,” the hip-hop heavy-hitting producer immediately responded. And what she had to say shocked us all.
“#Funfact this song was never bout masturbation,” Elliott revealed. “It was always about her appreciating her dark skin (self-love) when she looked in the mirror. It was the listeners that thought it was about sex & just ran with it… & we just let the consumers mind create what they wanted.”
In September Tweet also confirmed to ESSENCE that many had gotten the song wrong over the years. “A lot of people would have thought, well, they thought it was about something else,” she said.
“But I give people freedom to think and create whatever definition they want,” she added. “But for me, the song meant self-love and appreciation.”
Tweet revealed she was actually inspired to write the song after watching a talk show. “I remember watching a show — I think it was Oprah, Donahue or Sally Jesse whoever… And the doctor on there talked about everyone in life needs to get in front of the camera or the mirror and love everything about themselves without wanting to change anything. That’s where that song comes from,” she said.