Rihanna fans need to stop badgering her about next album when she's busy 'saving the world' from coronavirus
Do you know what’s not a good idea? Constantly badgering a pop star about their next album when they are busy helping fight the problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. And that’s exactly what fans have been doing to Rihanna. But the ‘Work’ singer has had enough it seems.
“If one of y’all motherf*ckers ask me about the album one more time when I’m tryna save the world unlike y’all president... on sight!” Rihanna said during an Instagram Live session on Friday, calling out annoying fans and President Donald Trump in one go, when fans kept asking about her highly-anticipated ninth album, commonly referred to as ‘R9’.
Rihanna has already donated $5 million to global coronavirus relief via her Clara Lionel Foundation, in addition to pledging another $1 million alongside Jay-Z to help those most affected in Los Angeles and New York.
She also joined forces with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to address the huge surge in domestic violence cases in Los Angeles since the coronavirus lockdown took effect. Their combined $4.2 million donation will “provide ten weeks of support including shelter, meals, and counseling for individuals and their children suffering from domestic violence at a time when shelters are full and incidents are on the rise.”
The coronavirus pandemic, and the lockdown it has caused, has led to some unforeseeable consequences. The Guardian reported earlier that around the world, the lockdowns has put one vulnerable group more at risk: Women and children who live with domestic violence have no escape from their abusers during the quarantine. From Brazil to Germany, Italy to China, activists and survivors have said they are already seeing an alarming rise in abuse cases.
Activists who spoke to The Guardian said that the increased threat to women and children was a predictable side effect of the coronavirus lockdowns, as increased abuse is a pattern repeated in many emergencies. “It happens in all crisis situations,” said Marcy Hersh, a senior manager for humanitarian advocacy at Women Deliver. “What we worry about is just as rates of violence are on the rise, the accessibility of services and the ability of women to access these services will decrease. This is a real challenge.”
That Rihanna, a victim of domestic violence herself, does not have time or the energy to talk about a music album while she’s busy with causes like these is not just understandable, but also commendable. Speaking about the assault at the hands of ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, and the subsequent media attention to it, Rihanna said a few years ago, "Well, I just never understood that, like how the victim gets punished over and over. It's in the past, and I don't want to say, 'Get over it,' because it's a very serious thing that is still relevant; it's still real."
"A lot of women, a lot of young girls, are still going through it. A lot of young boys too. It's not a subject to sweep under the rug, so I can't just dismiss it like it wasn't anything, or I don't take it seriously. But, for me, and anyone who's been a victim of domestic abuse, nobody wants to even remember it. Nobody even wants to admit it. So to talk about it and say it once, much less 200 times, is like… I have to be punished for it? It didn't sit well with me," she further said.
Fans are usually not wrong to enquire about albums. But there is a time and place for it, isn’t there?