Barbadose-born singer, businesswoman, actress and songwriter Rihanna has attracted the ire of netizens after she posed as a “sexy nun” for the popular American magazine “Interview.”
In bold pictures shared online, The ‘Diamonds’ star is dressed in a mock black and white nun’s habit complete with a defined headpiece. However, her top is open revealing a greasy and braless chest with ample cleavage on display as she strikes a provocative pose with bright red lipstick and heavy makeup on her face. She can be seen making suggestive gestures in a subsequent video.
“Rihanna is ready to confess” is the title of the interview in the issue, alluding to the Catholic practice of offering confessions. As the posts which were posed on 9th April gained traction, many users called her out for her “distasteful display” of Christianity and dared her to do the same with Islam.
INTERVIEW. spring 2024 cover. pic.twitter.com/APuDuA1o24
— Rihanna (@rihanna) April 9, 2024
Internet personality Oli London slammed the celebrity and accused her of “selling her soul.” He commented, “Would you mock another religion, Rihanna? Would you wear a Hijab and do this? No, you absolutely wouldn’t. So why do you think it’s okay to mock Christians? You sold your soul.”
Would you mock another religion Rihanna?
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 10, 2024
Would you wear a Hijab and do this?
No you absolutely wouldn’t.
So why do you think it’s okay to mock Christians?
You sold
Your soul!
The “Rude Boy” singer was challenged by YouTuber Lauren Chen to do the same while wearing a Hijab.
Do this in a hijab
— Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) April 10, 2024
I dare you https://t.co/2ZzzoaGXt3
One person remarked that Rihanna’s actions were “ungodly and disrespectful to the Christian faith.” and added, “You can never do this with Muslim attire in a Muslim country. Show some respect to Christians.”
This is Ungodly and disrespectful to the Christian Faith. You can never do this with Muslim attire in a Muslim country.
— 𝓛𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓓𝓻𝓮𝔂 👑 (@HommiesDrey) April 9, 2024
Show some respect to Christians 🤝
Another individual asked the popstar to replicate the same wearing a hijab in order to encourage religious inclusivity
Dear Rihanna, to inspire religious inclusion, we ask for you to recreate this with a hijab.
— Dr Penking™🇳🇬🇦🇺 (@drpenking) April 9, 2024
Regards
One user asked, “Don’t you guys get tired of making excuses for disrespecting religious garments,” and questioned if such acts are only permitted against Christianity.
don’t you guys get tired of making excuses for disrespecting religious garments? or is it only allowed when it’s tied to Christianity? https://t.co/udE1fyRkMV
— plamedi’s house of commons (@MumfordAndPlums) April 9, 2024
Journalist Amy Mek also slammed the singer for being a “hypocrite.” She charged, “Rihanna disrespects Christians and Hindus, yet begs for forgiveness of Muslims.”
Rihanna's Hypocrisy: Disrespects Christians and Hindus, Yet Begs for Muslims' Forgiveness https://t.co/DYbGFF8H87
— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) April 10, 2024
Rihanna had apologised to Muslims earlier
Notably, this is not the first time, the Grammy Award winner has courted controversy for disrespecting religion. She faced harsh criticism after lingerie models at her fashion show danced to a song that appeared to be a remix of an Islamic Hadith. The incident transpired in 2020 and the global star apologized for utilizing “Doom,” a song by Coucou Chloe which was released in 2016, in her Savage x Fenty fashion presentation.
The song featured Hadith concerning the end of the world and the hereafter. The Hadith, which was written by the Prophet Muhammad and people close to him, is the second most revered book in Islam after the Quran. It was reportedly adapted from a sermon delivered by Kuwaiti preacher Mishary bin Rashid Alafasy. The volatile reaction forced Rihanna and Coucou Chloe to apologize on social media after Muslims raised objections to the fact that the song incorporated a modified version of their holy scripture.
She shared, “I’d like to thank the Muslim community for pointing out a huge oversight that was unintentionally offensive in our Savage x Fenty show. I would more importantly like to apologize to you for this honest, yet careless mistake. We understand that we have hurt many of our Muslim brothers and sisters, and I’m incredibly disheartened by this. I do not play with any kind of disrespect toward God or any religion and therefore the use of the song in our project was completely irresponsible. Moving forward we will make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Thank you for your forgiveness and understanding.”
Interestingly, after apologising to Muslims, Rihanna insulted Hindus in 2021 by flaunting a Ganesha necklace as she posed semi-nude, but conveniently ignored to express any apology to the global minority even after she was repeatedly criticised for her derogatory gesture.
“While the singer is clearly promoting her new Savage x Fenty line, which just got $115 million in funding, I’m baffled by what made her think it’s OK to appropriate another culture. Rihanna was wearing a necklace of a god, which is incredibly sacred to Hindus. For those who don’t know, Ganesh is a Hindu god who is believed to be the Lord of Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles. I understand that many outside of the religion may not immediately understand what the big deal is, but once you learn the meaning, it’s easy to see that celebrities truly need to stop using other religious symbols as their aesthetic, because it’s getting old,” Nikita Charuza voiced in ‘PopSugar.’ She further slammed the pop icon in the piece for apologizing to Muslims for insulting their religion but not to Hindus.
