After that rejected kiss at the MTV Video Music Awards, Drake and Rihanna finally kissed onstage in Miami on Wednesday. While this led to fans rejoicing across the internet, I'm a little less than enthused. Sorry to say, but I'm over Drake and Rihanna before they even officially start being music's new power couple. The DrizRi romance isn't new — it's been going on for nearly seven years. If their history is any indication, the relationship won't go further than Drake chasing after her, sparking some rumors, and being disappointed yet again. Although it may sound pessimistic, allow me to explain why I can't ship them anymore.
To start, let's examine the recent series of events — specifically, when RiRi dodged Drake's kiss at the VMAs. This happened after the "One Dance" rapper wore a tux, presented her with the Video Vanguard Award, and told all of the viewers, "She's someone I've been in love with since I was 22 years old." You could swoon and say his never-ending crush is heartwarming. But is it actually? To me, it seems a bit sad (and dare I say pathetic?) on Drake's part. Time and time again, it's seemed that Rihanna has rejected his advances — at least, from what the public hears. There comes a point when it's time to call it quits and move on
Perhaps my favorite summary of their "relationship" comes from Amy Zimmerman at The Daily Beast. After the VMA incident, she wrote, "Rihanna’s response, a barely concealed cringe and a half-hearted dab, was the physical equivalent of a read receipt." Ouch! The article is even called "Has Rihanna Been Friend-Zoning Drake All Along?" This raises the question of whether she's actually been interested, or if he's just been pursuing her this entire time to no avail.
It should go without saying that Rihanna doesn't have to date Drake if she doesn't want to. So why are fans trying to force it so much? It was supposed to be her big moment on stage at the VMAs, so the focus should've been on her and her career, not a rumored romance. And this isn't the first time that she's seemed disinterested. In fact, in the past, the rapper even picked up on it. In June 2010, Drake told The New York Times:
"I was a pawn. You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I’ve done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear. I was like, wow, this feels terrible."
This game has been going on for too long now. With Drake and Rihanna, I don't believe it's the fairy tale people make it out to be. Instead, it's him chasing after her repeatedly, her choosing someone else (Leonardo DiCaprio? Chris Brown?), and then circling back eventually. Sources are saying that Drizzy and Ri are officially together now, but the same was said back in June. They also were rumored to be dating in May 2009, February 2014, and Spring 2015. When there are so many separate instances, it becomes way less exciting, and it makes it hard to believe things will actually be different this time around.
Cady Lang recently wrote a piece for TIME titled "Let’s All Stop Feeling Bad for Drake Because He Finally Got a Kiss From Rihanna." Here's an excerpt:
"So let’s call a moratorium on the pity parties for Drake, because after nearly a decade of waiting, Aubrey finally got that kiss."
I agree with the part about no more pity parties. Why should people feel bad for Drake just because Rihanna wasn't into him? Shouldn't we be feeling bad for Rihanna for having to deal with these rumors for years? She wasn't a bad person; she just wasn't interested. For the sake of analogy, Drake and Rihanna feel like the new Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. Both on-again/off-again relationships have plagued pop culture for years.
Coincidently enough, Drake reportedly revealed himself to be a Jelena shipper back in December via an alleged Instagram comment. It's funny, because he's actually a lot like Bieber. By that, I mean that he's always the one who seems to be doing the pursuing and making grand gestures (like giving Rihanna an entire billboard), just as Bieber rented out an entire stadium to watch Titanic with Gomez. Then Biebs continued chasing after Gomez (who repeatedly said she was done with Bieber in various interviews), and the vicious cycle continued. Doesn't that sound a lot like Drake and RiRi? They always wind up back together, but it's the guy doing the chasing and the girl blowing him off.
Just as I'm sick of hearing about Bieber and Gomez, I'm over this Rihanna and Drake romance. Sure, they kissed in Miami, but what happens from here? Quite frankly, I'm too exhausted after wondering, "Are they together? Are they not?" for the past few years to care anymore.
