Renowned actor Kanayo O. Kanayo has openly questioned a longstanding tradition of the Vatican — the use of black smoke to indicate a failed papal election.

In a video shared on his platform, Kanayo highlighted the worldwide consequences of linking ‘black’ with failure. ‘When they fail, it’s black smoke.


“When they fail, it’s black smoke. When they succeed, it’s white smoke… This has been ingrained in the minds of the world that black is failure.”

He referred to the current conclave of cardinals, noting that the black smoke on a recent occasion indicated their failure to elect a new pope. He advocates for a transformation.

“Let blue smoke mean a new Pope has not been elected and let white smoke mean he has. Remove the black. It’s not good for us.”