Leaping from playlists to entrance pages, Rihanna has made the transition from the cult pop star who has a lot of younger, higher class city India dancing to her songs to the worldwide movie star all of India can’t cease speaking about – or discovering out extra about. Is she Rihanna or Reeyanna? What’s her nationality? Precisely how well-liked is she? The questions on the Barbados-born US singer, who set the worldwide ball rolling on India’s farm protests together with her tweet backing the farmers, did the frantic rounds.
On Tuesday evening, Rihanna, one of many greatest pop stars of the day, had many in a tizzy when she shared a CNN report over the Web shutdown on the protest websites at Delhi border. “Why aren’t we speaking about this? #FarmersProtest,” the 33-year-old singer tweeted. Rihanna, who has incessantly spoken out on points akin to LGBTQIA+ rights and racism, is the fourth most adopted particular person, with 101.3 million followers, on Twitter after former US president Barack Obama and singers Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. Her tweet on India’s farmers acquired a whole lot of hundreds retweets and likes.
It led to a wave of assist for the farmers from a number of international celebrities, activists and politicians, together with local weather activist Greta Thunberg, American lawyer and US Vice President Kamala Harris’ niece Meena Harris, actor Amanda Cerni, singers Jay Sean and Hollywood tar John Cusack.
The “Umbrella” and “Diamond” singer additionally noticed a bounce in her Twitter following – going from 100 million to 101.3 million in two days. She was all of the sudden discuss of city in every single place in India. The controversy triggered by tweet additionally evoked a robust response from the Ministry of Exterior Affairs, which stated the “temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and feedback” is neither correct nor accountable.
Utilizing the hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda that have been used within the MEA assertion, the federal government’s pushback discovered assist from a number of high ministers, Bollywood and sports activities personalities.
And individuals who didn’t know or have any curiosity in her form of music have been in a single day looking for out extra and hear extra to know extra concerning the lady behind the tweet.
On the day she posted concerning the web clampdown at farmers’ protest, Rihanna additionally spoke towards the navy coup in India’s neighbouring nation Myanmar. “My prayers are with you #myanmar!” the singer tweeted whereas sharing a submit by Human Rights Watch.
Rihanna’s assist to farmers’ protests and solidarity with the folks of Myanmar is not a case of sudden activism. She has been vocal about points akin to LGBTQIA+ rights, youngsters schooling and racism since her teen years. Born on February 20, 1988 in Saint Michael, Barbados, to accountant Monica and warehouse supervisor Ronald Fenty, Rihanna was simply 18 when she created Imagine Basis to assist terminally sick youngsters.
In 2012, she launched the Clara Lionel Basis, which helps and funds schooling and well being programmes world wide.
She additionally turned the primary international ambassador for the World Partnership for Schooling, utilizing her voice to advocate for assist for schooling programmes.
In 2017, the singer criticised trend corporations who rent fashions from minority teams as a “token” gesture. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with many gifted trans girls over time however I do not go round doing trans castings! I respect all girls. Whether or not they’re trans or not is none of my enterprise.
“I do not suppose it is truthful {that a} trans lady, or man, be used as a handy advertising and marketing instrument. Too typically I see corporations doing this to trans and black girls alike. There’s at all times simply that one spot within the marketing campaign for the token ‘we glance mad numerous’ woman/man! It is unhappy!,” the singer, who owns the favored pores and skin color and gender inclusive cosmetics label Fenty, had stated in response to a fan question on Twitter.
Rihanna was additionally among the many main voices in showbiz when the US was rocked by protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota in Could final 12 months.
On the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in April final 12 months, the singer made an earnest enchantment to her followers, saying that she is not engaged on her newest album as her prime focus proper now’s doing her bit in saving the world from the pandemic.
The Grammy winner, one of many richest musicians ever with a internet price pegged at USD 600 million, was one of many first well-known personalities who pledged assist in the direction of the aid efforts in combating the COVID-19 outbreak.
Rihanna’s non-profit organisation Clara Lionel Basis donated USD 2.1 million to assist victims of home violence in Los Angeles through the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.
Her basis additionally pledged USD 2 million to assist undocumented employees, the incarcerated, homeless and aged populations, and youngsters of frontline healthcare employees in Los Angeles and New York Metropolis amid the pandemic.
Whereas she acquired bouquets for her humanitarian and advocacy work, she has additionally courted controversies over time. Rihanna’s 2010 tune “Love The Means You Lie” kicked off an issue over its problematic lyrics that many individuals believed glamourised home abuse.
The tune featured the lyrics “I Like The Means It Hurts” that individuals discovered to be odd as a result of Rihanna being herself a sufferer of home abuse in 2009 when she was in a relationship with singer-songwriter Chris Brown.
The video of one other observe, “B**** Higher Have My Cash” ignited an intense debate about feminism, violence and race.
The “Please Don’t Cease The Music” singer had reportedly additionally confronted flak for her photograph shoot in entrance of Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in 2013.
It was reported that the mosque administration had requested her to depart the premises after they felt that among the pictures she took “weren’t in compliance with the phrases of the mosque”.
Most lately, the singer needed to apologise for utilizing a controversial tune at her newest Savage X Fenty trend present. She had acquired backlash on-line for utilizing the tune “Doom” by artist Coucou Chloe, which features a Muslim textual content often called a Hadith.
Rihanna had stated the usage of the tune was “irresponsible” and known as it an “sincere, but careless mistake.”