Rihanna ruffled some religious feathers while dressed as a sexy nun on the cover of Interview Magazine’s latest issue.
In response to a photo shoot of the 36-year-old singer wearing a black and white habit, the traditional garment worn by members of religious orders, numerous fans and critics flocked to her comment section to denounce the look.
After viewing the provocative image of her, in which she sported a small cross tattoo drawn on her face and an unbuttoned Dior blouse that exposed her cleavage, many social media users accused the superstar of disrespecting Christians and Catholics.
00:00
02:24
‘So tired with all this unholy imagery!!!!’ one wrote while another called the concept ‘religious mockery.’
Rihanna ruffled some religious feathers while dressed as a sexy nun on the cover of Interview Magazine’s latest issue
A third commented: ‘I love Rihanna but I never understand why the obsession with sexualizing religious representations.’
‘Isn’t this blasphemy??’ another asked.
Others explained that they felt it is ‘dehumanizing and degrading to see Christianity being continuously mocked’ and ‘religious imagery being used for the wrong purposes.’
Ultimately, many of her followers questioned ‘out of all the fashion in the world’ why did the Fenty Beauty founder ‘chose to mock a religion.’
A small handful, however, jumped to her defense as they inquired whether the trolls made the same comments ‘under every single person that has been a slutty nun for Halloween.’
Back in 2021, she was accused of ‘cultural appropriation’ by fans for wearing a religious pendant of Hindu god Ganesha in a topless photo.
And, just a year prior, she landed in hot water for using a song featuring sacred Islamic texts as a soundtrack to her racy Savage x Fenty lingerie show.
The mother-of-two, who has identified as Christian over the years, previously told Glamour U.K that the key to staying true to herself has been leaning on God.
In response to a photo shoot of the 36-year-old singer wearing a black and white habit, the traditional garment worn by members of religious orders, numerous fans and critics flocked to her comment section to denounce the look
After viewing the provocative image of her, in which she sported a bright red lipstick and an unbuttoned blouse that exposed her cleavage, many social media users accused her of disrespecting Catholic and Christians
Rihanna looks stylish while painting pottery during night out
When asked about how she stays fearless and navigates fame, she credited her ‘relationship to God’ and ‘remembering what’s important in life’ for keeping her grounded and unbothered by ‘what other people think.’
In a prior 2019 chat with Interview, in which she was interviewed by her Ocean’s 8 co-star Sarah Paulson, the Umbrella hitmaker reflected on her faith.
‘My first time praying and fasting was when I was 7 years old. I did that on my own, because I wanted to go to New York, and I knew that this was a sacrifice I had to make in order for god to make sure I could get there,’ she said.
As for whether she has ever felt abandoned by God or questioned her religion, the nine-time Grammy winner said: ‘Not my faith, but I have been in a place where I felt like maybe I had disappointed god so much that we weren’t as close.’
‘That happened to me while I was making Anti. That was a really hard time, but, thank God, I got through it,’ she confessed.
After Paulson pressed if that feeling made her faith unwavering, Rihanna clarified that her faith ‘wasn’t even lost then.’
‘The devil just has a way of making you feel like you’re not good enough, and that you’re not worthy of god being close to you. It’s really not the truth, but you wind up feeling like that,’ she explained. ‘My grandmother was the one who started me on this. She gave me a devotion book, a physical one. It was the last thing she gave me before she passed away.’
‘So tired with all this unholy imagery!!!!’ one wrote while another called the concept ‘religious mockery’
A third commented: ‘I love Rihanna but I never understand why the obsession with sexualizing religious representations’
‘Isn’t this blasphemy??’ another asked
Others explained that they felt it is ‘dehumanizing and degrading to see Christianity being continuously mocked’ and ‘religious imagery being used for the wrong purposes’
Ultimately, many of her followers questioned ‘out of all the fashion in the world’ why did the Fenty Beauty founder ‘chose to mock a religion’
Others simply asked why she was wearing ‘a religious gown’
‘Please leave my religion alone,’ another pleaded
A small handful, however, jumped to her defense as they inquired whether the trolls made the same comments ‘under every single person that has been a slutty nun for Halloween’
During her latest chat with interview, she did not speak directly about her faith, but opened up about her relationship with her partner A$AP Rocky, who is the father of her two sons Riot Rose, eight months, and RZA, born in 2022.
‘We saw fashion the same. We saw creative the same. We ended up in the same circles a lot. And past that, when we grew up, we ended up supporting each other’s brands and products and creative all the time,’ she said of how her friendship with the rapper blossomed into a relationship.
Rihanna continued: ‘I would wear his s**t, he would show up to my launches. But it wasn’t until the end of 2019 [they got together].’
When asked if a flirty direct message or text prompted them to turn their platonic relationship romantic, the performer laughed.
‘No! We’ve known each other for a long time. I’ve seen him in relationships. He’s seen me in relationships. We’ve seen each other outside of relationships. We knew what we’re capable of, and the trouble that we could bring to each other’s lives. We can make or break each other’s hearts. And so, we started dating with a lot of caution,’ she said.
During her latest chat with interview, she did not speak directly about her faith, but opened up about her relationship with her partner A$AP Rocky, who is the father of her two sons Riot Rose, eight months, and RZA, born in 2022; seen in November 2021
Ultimately, she said the COVID-19 pandemic ‘sped up’ their relationship and she feels great being with someone that sees her as being ‘worthy of being the mother of their kids’ (pictured in May 2023)
Pregnant Rihanna resembles a bride at 2023 Met Gala with A$AP
At the time, she said she just wanted to ‘let whatever was supposed to happen, happen.’
‘It was just, This is a flower. It’s either going to die or blossom. But I’m going to let it decide itself,’ Rihanna revealed.
Ultimately, she said the COVID-19 pandemic ‘sped up’ their relationship.
‘Had it not been for COVID, we would’ve taken a lot more time to get comfortable with each other, to even know that we were ready,’ she declared.
The Diamonds crooner noted that she wants to have as many kids ‘as God wants’ her to have and would like to ‘try for’ a girl (pictured in April 2023)
Additionally, she said it’s a ‘great feeling’ being with someone that sees her as being ‘worthy of being the mother of their kids.’
‘I felt the same about him. I knew he would be a great dad,’ she said about her longtime love.
The Diamonds crooner noted that she wants to have as many kids ‘as God wants’ her to have and would like to ‘try for’ a girl.
She also revealed that her firstborn’s first word was ‘Hey.’
‘I used to try to get his attention all the time, and I would say, ‘Hey, hey, hey.’ And one day he said it back to me in the same melody and I kept singing it and he kept following it over and over again,’ Rihanna raved.
