Barbados singer Rihanna has infuriated yet another cultural and religious group with her defiance. She has been facing severe allegations of cultural misappropriation and religious insensitivity again. The reason for that is one of her latest picture on social media, that has hurt a lot of people badly. It appeared that Rihanna was topless and covering her private parts while wearing only a pendant with a logo of Hindu God, Ganesha.
Previously, Rihanna supported the farmers protest in India, which further polarized India but won her many Indian hearts. At the same time, Indian government and its supporters responded with heavy backlash. However, her recent stint has received a totally opposite response. Hundreds of users have been calling her out for disrespecting their culture and misusing their religious images.
Why Rihanna Wore Hindu God As An Aesthetic?
Users tried to school Rihanna that their religious idols were not some aesthetics for her costumes. The symbol of Ganesha represents wisdom and success, and Hindus often pray to it before starting new business. Some were alleging that Rihanna wearing Ganesha’s pendant might be linked to her stance on the protest. While others accused her of disrespecting the cultural symbolism of this sign by using it while topless.
The picture led Indian Hindus assume that Rihanna might not be serious about issues in India like she portrayed with her tweet for farmer’s protest. They stated that it exposed how she only cared about clout in the ongoing trend. This incident shows that the pop star was either not aware of the Indian values, or had no respect them as Hindus do.
People belonging to other religions that Hinduism also accused Rihanna for gaining attention by mutilating belief systems. Reportedly, Rihanna has mocked various religions on different occasions only to apologize later. Social media users were not sure whether Rihanna was actually ignorant or doing all of this deliberately.
It made a lot of people really concerned about the intentions of the singer. Even though most Hindu Gods have appeared partially nude in the symbolism, its unnecessary to link religion with entertainment related business. According to many government officials, she has also discredited her stance in the matter of farmers.
The Reason of Photoshoot
Besides the necklace of Hindu God, she was also wearing a pair of boxers by her brand Savage X Fenty. The photo was a part of her brand’s campaign to sell lingerie and other cosmetic items. It can also be seen that there are pearl jewels around her neck and a large-pair of earrings. Interestingly, each part of her apparel is colored in lavender.
Apart from criticism, there were also those who appreciated this look and one comment even said that it was fine with that photo as long as Rihanna respected the religion of Hinduism. The singer has not yet responded to the criticism but the news of her brand is going viral. Apparently, the image has flocked a lot of buyers towards her brand and the pair of boxers, she’s wearing have been ‘sold out’ on company’s website.
Her brand value has increased and she has recently become the first black woman to own a business worth 1 Billion USD.
Some critics said that maybe this is why Rihanna was weirdly attracted towards Hindu God; to find success in business.
Its Not The First Time For RiRi
As many users recalled Rihanna’s past behavior against religion, it is important to look at those. Her brand Savage X Fenty had previously faced criticism for using Islamic verses in a lingerie fashion show. She also posted a picture once in which she was sitting in a suggestive pose inside Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Muslims all over the world blasted her for disrespecting their religion, which led her to issue an apology. She has publically apologized for using Hadith in a song named ‘Doom’, which she described as an unintentional mistake. She announced to edit the track and remove controversial parts which were hurting people.
She once covered for Harper’s Bazaar China magazine to show the fusion of western style and eastern culture. However, she ended up infuriating Chinese people for using their cultural items without their consent.
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