Nollywood veteran Kanayo O. Kanayo has criticized the Catholic Church’s use of black smoke to signify an unsuccessful papal election vote, deeming it offensive and insensitive to black people

Veteran Nollywood actor Kanayo O. Kanayo has publicly called out the Catholic Church for its traditional use of “black smoke” to indicate an unsuccessful vote during the election process for a new pope, labeling the symbolism as offensive and outdated.

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Following the passing of Pope Francis in April 2025, the Catholic conclave convened to elect his successor, Pope Leo XIV. However, the customary emission of black smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney to signal a lack of consensus during the voting process drew strong disapproval from the Nollywood actor.

In a video shared on his Instagram account on May 8, 2025, Kanayo O. Kanayo expressed his strong displeasure with the long-standing practice where black smoke signifies a failed vote for a new pope, contrasting with white smoke which denotes a successful election.

“So yesterday was that there was black smoke from the chimney, meaning that they failed to elect a new pope. So when they fail to elect a new pope, they use black smoke and when they use white means success,” Kanayo stated in the video.

The outspoken actor argued vehemently that the symbolic association of black with failure in this context is harmful and deeply insensitive towards black people globally.

“In the minds of the world, they are saying that black means failure and I think this is bad. The Catholic Church must rise up to this immediately,” he asserted.

Kanayo further elaborated on the negative connotations, stating, “We have been vilified enough as black people. So are they calling people the black sheep.

Catholic community should use blue, let blue mean that a new pope has not been elected and let white smoke mean that he has been elected. Remove the black, it’s not good for us. Thank you.”