Rihanna: worldwide pop star, fashion queen, and...cyberbully? It may sound a little ridiculous or unbelievable, but according to reports, Rihanna took to social media to respond to a teenage fan's imitation of one of the star's past outfits –– and she really didn't have anything very nice to say about it.
While Rihanna is no stranger to being in the news for one thing or another, this seems like a strange reaction to a fan for any celebrity. Now Alexis Carter, the teen involved, no longer considers herself a Rihanna fan at all. And can you really blame her?
As the story goes, 16-year-old Carter designed and recreated a 2010 Rihanna look for her Hollywood-themed prom. Yes, the outfit was a little out there (this is No Pants Rihanna's style we're talking about), but Carter's creation ended up being pretty darn similar to the Rihanna's original Alexandre Vauthier-designed number. Featuring a plunging neckline and giant, oversized sleeves, the look was a type of bat-like jumpsuit. You know, the formal kind. Those exist. Apparently.
After debuting her creation at her prom (and reportedly receiving very positive feedback), photos of Carter in the creation ended up on social media with the hashtag #PromBat accompanying most of them. While admittedly many of us would probably opt to leave the bat wings at home for the big night, Carter really did manage to achieve a look that was uncannily similar to Rihanna's 2010 jumpsuit. It's pretty impressive.
But Rihanna, being Rihanna, took to Twitter to express just how unimpressed she was by the imitation. The singer posted a photo of the two looks side by side, complete with a brief emoji caption to let the entire world (and I mean, the entire world –– the woman has 35.3 million followers on Twitter) know that she wasn't happy with Carter's look.
Carter was (quite obviously) offended, and needless to say, I think she won't be trying to imitate Rihanna's looks...or buying her music...or following her on Twitter again any time soon.
"Why throw shade on it when you had on the exact same thing? The poses was different but the outfit wasn't ... She don't love her fans like she says she does," Carter said regarding Rihanna's response.
In a world where it's hard enough as it is to try to do something unique as a teenager, it's amazing that Rihanna found both the nerve and the time (isn't she supposed to be, like, really busy?) to be so disrespectful to a young, creative (not to mention talented) fan. It's sad to think that she's reached a level of fame where she thinks it's ok to respond to a diehard fan in such a way.
I think Rihanna needs to hear the same little nugget of wisdom that my mom always used to remind me of in middle school (when I was especially sassy): "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." And, yes, Rihanna, that applies to emojis too.
