We are just getting warmed to what more Rihanna has to unpack as the year progresses! Recently, she gave one of the most iconic Super Bowl Halftime Performances during the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs match. The State Farm Stadium was filled with people who came to cheer the songstress. Cara Delevingne even wore a t-shirt that stated that Rihanna’s concert was interrupted by a football game.
It was like a comeback for the ‘Rude Boy’ artist after seven years of hiatus. What was she doing away for seven years? Building a business empire and relishing the love that came her way! The Navy was expecting music from her, but she gave an entire nostalgic performance. And also she released new music for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. The song ‘Lift Me Up’ received an Oscar nomination. Though people enjoyed the Halftime Performance, there were some harsh critics as well. Now, the basketball star Shaquille O’Neal has something to say to them.
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Shaquille O’Neal Asks Rihanna Haters To ‘Shut It Up’
Rihanna received heavy vitriol along with abundant love for the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Performance. At the concert, RiRi also announced her second pregnancy while performing on a harnessed glass board giving her best. However, all her efforts did not culminate in a successful event. Former President Donald Trump criticized her performance.
On his social media platform, Truth Social, he wrote, “Rihanna gave, without question, the single worst Halftime Show in Super Bowl history—This after insulting far more than half of our Nation, which is already in serious DECLINE, with her foul and insulting language. Also, so much for her ‘Stylist!’ “.
However, the former Miami Heat player has clapped back at the critics without taking names. On his podcast, ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq Friday’, O’Neal asked them to ‘shut the f*** up”. He said, “All you people disrespecting Rihanna, shut your face. Shut it up. We living in a world where people got too much freedom, keep your f*****g thoughts to yourself”.
He continued, “She did a wonderful job. She’s pregnant, she blessed it, she did her thing, she didn’t fall. Just leave it there. All you superstars that’s disrespectful and causing beef, shut your face”.
Shaq also threatened to get at the trolls if Rihanna was his woman. He said, “If she was my woman and I seen one of you superstars do that, I’m gonna have to get at you,” he said. “Rappers. Presidential candidates. I’m gonna have to get at you. Leave her alone”.
In Case You Missed: Why Was Rihanna Not Paid For Her Super Bowl Performance?
The Artist Was Also Criticized For Wearing A $1 Million Ruby Ring
It was undoubtedly one of the most awaited performances of the year. Rihanna was coming on stage to perform after seven years. She performed some of her greater hits like ‘Diamonds’, ‘B**** Better Have My Money’, ‘Work’, and others. The artist wore a red Loewe jumpsuit to hide her baby bump until the performance. She accessorized it with a watch and a Burmese ruby ring worth $1 million.
BAYCO designed the ring. In their description, they wrote that it is “a natural, unheated 19.47-carat sugarloaf cabochon Burma Ruby and 5.66-carats of trillion-cut and round-brilliant colorless diamonds set in platinum and 18kt yellow gold”.
However, the accessory triggered political outrage on the internet. Currently, Myanmar is under a junta government causing oppression to the Burmese citizens. People are getting executed and denied their basic human rights. The trade of these gems is aiding the efforts of the military dictatorship in the country. The activist group ‘Justice For Myanmar’ has shed light on the issue that the ring bears on the people in Myanmar.
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