Kerry Washington gave her children with Nnamdi Asomugh Igbo middle names.
(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
Is there anything Kerry Washington can’t do? The actress is rounding out the final season of her hit ABC drama “Scandal” and is readying new projects for her production company. But somewhere along the way, Washington made time to learn Igbo and showed off her chops in a birthday tweet to actress Uzo Aduba.
“Ncheta ubochi omumu gi,” Washington tweeted Sunday, Feb. 11. “Ekele diri Chineke.”
The remark translates to, “In remembrance of the day you were born. Thanks be to God.”
Several fans praised her tweet.
“Igbo so on fleek!!!” one person said.
“This just made me happy,” someone else tweeted.
Did she just nail that ibo pic.twitter.com/jQdZqtOBRJ
— Dizie_L’amant (@DizieGreen) February 13, 2018
Aduba, the daughter of Nigerian parents and an actress who stars on Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black,” seemed impressed by Washington’s skills.
“Heh! Nwannem nwanyi, i na asu Igbo??!? Maka o di mma! Nwanne, daalu maka ubochi omumu m.”
Translation: “Heh! My sister, do you speak Igbo? Because it’s good! Thanks for the birthday wish.”
For those who aren’t familiar with the uber private star, Washington’s use of Igbo may come out of left field. But her husband, former NFLer and actor Nnamdi Asomugha, is Nigerian-American. The connection runs so deep that the couple gave their two children Igbo middle names: Amarachi for their daughter and Kelechi for their son.
And it’s not just the children who have names tied to their parental grandparent’s home.
“Nnamdi’s parents are Nigerian immigrants,” Washington disclosed to InStyle magazine in 2015. “His father passed when he was young. When you marry into the Igbo culture, you get a new name. My name is Ogechi. I wear it on a necklace my mother-in-law gave me.”
