Rihanna suffers backlash for using sacred Islamic texts at lingerie show

Pop singer Rihanna has apologised after a fashion show for her lingerie brand Savage x Fenty featured a song that included a recording of sacred Islamic texts, known as hadiths.

The offending song, “Doom” by Coucou Chloe, included a remix of a hadith narration. It was played during a segment of the show which was broadcast on Amazon Prime.

Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, was allegedly unaware that the words were in the song.

Many Muslims criticised her for using their sacred texts as part of her lingerie fashion show.

One angry Twitter user posted a clip, commenting, “There’s really no way we can let this slide like a straight up HADITH???? rihanna baby you screwed up HARD.”

In the Islamic faith, the hadith is a sacred written record representing the traditions or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, used as guidance by Muslims.

Another offended fan tweeted, “Rihanna is messed up for using a song with a hadith in it to play at her LINGERIE show. What is up with artists using Islam as an aesthetic?? Have some respect.”

The surprised pop songstress quickly apologised on her Instagram stories on Tuesday, saying, “I’d like to thank the Muslim community for pointing out a huge oversight that was unintentionally offensive in our Savage x Fenty show, I would more importantly like to apologise to you for this honest, yet careless mistake.

“We understand that we have hurt many of our Muslim brothers and sisters and I’m incredibly disheartened by this! I do not play with any kind of disrespect toward God or any religion and therefore the use of the song in our project was completely irresponsible!”

Rihanna normally does not discuss religion, but she is from Barbados, which is 95% Anglican Christian, and she has a cross tattooed on her neck.

In 2019, Forbes estimated that her fortune is now worth US$600 million, making her the world’s richest female musician, though much of her wealth comes from her beauty and fashion businesses.