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Rihanna is going viral and prompting mixed reactions after gracing the latest cover of Interview Magazine.
On Tuesday, April 9, Interview Magazine took to its official Instagram account to share a post revealing Rihanna as the cover star of its latest issue. In the shot, Rih poses in a black and white headdress, or coif, typically worn by nuns. Additionally, Rih rocked an unbuttoned white top, blue eyeshadow, and sultry red lipstick.
Furthermore, Interview Mag also shared a clip of Rih on set posing for the shots. In the video, the singer clutches her chest area while posing for the shots.
Check out the cover shot and video below, as well as additional shots of Rih.
Social media users entered The Shade Room’s comment section to share their reactions to Rih’s cover and the singer’s risqué spin on religious attire. Some appeared to feel the shoot’s creative direction was offensive, while others, like singer Erykah Badu, were here for it.
While Instagram user @need4lspeed added, “The Industry loves to mock God. It’s overdone and tired.”
While Instagram user @sanele_mkhizesa added, “This is getting tired! Out of all concepts they decided on mocking Christianity? Super annoying! Get away from me with this! 😤”
During the singer’s exclusive chat with Interview Magazine, she spoke about meeting A$AP Rocky, the father of her two children, in 2012. To note, the pair shared a steamy performance at the VMAs that year where Rocky grabbed the singer’s backside, per MTV.
“So that was the day that we thought we met. At rehearsal, so it was, like, manager to manager, client to client,” Rih explained. “So when he grabbed my ass that night, everybody thought… my team was worried that I wanted to have his head on a f*****g mantle. But I was like, ‘Ah, nah.’ That’s why everybody was like, ‘Oh my god. She likes him.'”
From there, Rih explained that they remained friends until things changed in 2019.
“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. I would wear his s**t, he would show up to my launches. But it wasn’t until the end of 2019… [until] we started dating with a lot of caution,” she explained.
The singer explained that 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic “sped up” their romance.
“COVID sped up our relationship, which I felt like God knew we needed because we were going to start a family. And 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 said. “…We didn’t even really talk about it. There was no denying it. It was the best thing that ever happened to us. It just happened.”
Before wrapping up the interview, Rih explains that she hopes to give birth to a baby girl in the future — currently, the couple shares two sons who are both under the age of 2.
While promoting the interview, the singer took some time to poke fun at her mommy status by sharing a separate photo from her shoot with Interview Mag on Instagram.
“literally how i feel in postpartum with 2 under 2,” she wrote.
At this time, Rihanna nor Interview Mag has publicly addressed the social media backlash.
