Media personality and social critic Daddy Freeze has lashed out at Gen Z corporate behavior, reacting sharply to the viral video of a young graduate trainee addressing United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group Chairman Tony Elumelu by his first name.

Adding his voice to the ongoing debate surrounding corporate culture and traditional respect, Daddy Freeze criticized the trainee's approach and blamed poor upbringing and modern "wokeism" for eroding basic boundary awareness.

"This behaviour from Gen Z is very irritating. If Gen Z have never embarrassed you before, you have not been embarrassed before. How do you look at a 63-year-old Tony Elumelu and call him ‘Tony’? These Gen Zs don’t really have sense. Even I at 50, I can’t address him like that," Daddy Freeze stated in a social media video.

Daddy Freeze further argued that unless two individuals share a peer-level history, formal titles should always be maintained, especially in professional settings involving broad age gaps.

"I don’t blame the girl; I blame her parents. If you haven't met the person in school, he is not your mate. In this particular situation, he is her boss and older than her. How has this generation been corrupted by wokeism? I like the way Tony cleared her," he continued.

Daddy Freeze's commentary comes as the wider public debate remains split over the incident.

While traditionalists and older commentators echo his views, demanding strict adherence to African cultural norms and formal workplace titles, younger workers and modern corporate advocates continue to debate whether flat, first-name organizational structures learned during training programs are conflicting with traditional executive expectations.

“This behaviour from Gen Z is very irritåting. How do you look at a 63-year-old Tony Elumelu and call him ‘Tony’? Even me at 50, I can’t address him like that. I don’t blame the girl; I blame her parents.”

— Daddy Freeze reacts to the trending video of a lady who addressed UBA… https://t.co/5yXV1MyD4B pic.twitter.com/uKlZsEp698

— CHUKS 🍥 (@ChuksEricE) August 20, 2026