Rihanna has received backlash from Twitter’s theatre enthusiasts after Jeremy O. Harris, the playwright behind the acclaimed Broadway production Slave Play, tweeted that RiRi had been texting him throughout the show. Although Harris’ post was just celebrating her coming to see the show, the tweet prompted a number of ardent theatre-goers to call out RiRi’s behaviour as “rude” and “unacceptable”. Some users even compared the event to a 2015 incident between Madonna and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, where the singer was banned from attending further runs of the musical after she spent most of the show on her phone.
Despite the online uproar, Harris has defended Rihanna’s phone usage, saying: “I’m not interested in policing anyone’s relationship to watching a play ESPECIALLY someone who isn’t a part of the regular theatregoing crowd.” He continued: “As ppl on this site know I’m famously ambivalent abt phone use in theatre.”
Rihanna has made no comment on the theatrical fiasco. Presumably the makeup mogul and singer is pretty busy following the Broadway-level slickness of her own NYFW Savage x Fenty show, which took place last week. With the introduction of her Fenty Beauty makeup brand, the singer is currently in Seoul, South Korea, where she is finishing up a special masterclass. Check it out below.
Read our interview with Jeremy O. Harris here.