An Lingrong, a fictional character from the historical drama Empresses in the Palace, recently went viral on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo after a netizen compared An’s plotline to the career of Barbadian pop star Rihanna.

The comparison began with a simple post: “An Lingrong was originally a singer, but in the second half of her life, she focused entirely on the research and development of chemicals and didn’t sing very much. Isn’t that like Rihanna?”

Netizens are in awe over the perceived similarities between the lives of Barbadian singer Rihanna and a concubine from the drama ‘Empresses in the Palace’

An Lingrong, a fictional character from the historical drama Empresses in the Palace, recently went viral on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo after a netizen compared An’s plotline to the career of Barbadian pop star Rihanna.

side by side of the character and rihanna

The comparison began with a simple post: “An Lingrong was originally a singer, but in the second half of her life, she focused entirely on the research and development of chemicals and didn’t sing very much. Isn’t that like Rihanna?”

An is one of the concubines in the 2011 series Empresses in the Palace, which is also available on Netflix. The TV show reimagines the court of the Qing Dynasty’s Yongzheng Emperor, especially dramas among his tens of concubines. Played by actress Tao Xinran, An was born into an average family and later selected to be part of the emperor’s harem.

Among her talents are singing and perfumery; however, she eventually uses her skill with chemicals to cause other concubines to miscarry. Though An’s story is definitely darker, many see a parallel between her and Rihanna due to the latter’s departure from her musical career to focus on beauty products.

Since her debut in 2005, Rihanna has released countless chart-topping songs, including ‘Umbrella,’ ‘We Found Love,’ and ‘Stay,’ winning nine Grammy Awards and 33 nominations in the process.

However, it has been six years since Anti, Rihanna’s most recent album. Instead, she has been focusing on her cosmetics company, Fenty Beauty.