Rihanna Interview photoshoot takes the Internet by storm: Why is it so controversial?

Rihanna’s front cover for Interview magazine’s spring edition has prompted fierce criticism from some quarters as being disrespectful to Christianity.

The Barbadian singer is dressed in a parody of a catholic nun’s outfit, with a recognizable black and white headpiece, but with an open top exposing her oiled, braless chest (though there’s no more on display than many standard dresses).

She’s wearing heavy make-up and in the accompanying video she can be seen adopting a defiant pose and making a number of faces at the camera.

The title of the interview in the issue is ‘Rihanna is ready to confess’ in an allusion to the Catholic practice of confession.

The comments on the Instagram post both on Interview mag’s account and Rihanna’s saw people criticising the image as being distasteful or disrespectful to Christians.

While some were less than impressed by the nun image, others were big fans, just like Karata:

Rihanna’s interview with Mel Ottenberg

Rihanna is in Interview having sat down to talk to editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg, who has worked as her stylist since 2011, and who styled her for this photoshoot. In the other photos she is in a shirt and tie outfit wearing a silver grill by Gabby Elan Jewelry.

And in a Loewe sweater with dirty bare legs and a blonde wig.

In the interview, which goes over a wide range of topics, the pair do not discuss the photoshoot or make reference to any of the images or their meanings.

Rihanna has long been known for pushing boundaries in her music and fashion, making this another chapter in her story of controversy and creativity. One of her most famous was dressing as the female pope for the Met Gala in 2018, which was themed “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”. She dressed in a pearl and crystal-encrusted robe with a papal mitre, and matching accessories.

Why is Rihanna’s photoshoot controversial?

The use of religious imagery can offend people who believe in that religion, hence the reaction from certain quarters to the image of Rihanna as a nun. What’s more, the other photos in the shoot appear to have upset some people by avoiding what some might consider classic ideas of beauty in their search for an impactful image.

“Rihanna always knows how to get the people going,” someone else declared, which seems to be the crux of the matter. Whether the images are pleasing to everyone or not is up to them - Rihanna and stylist Ottenberg have gone for striking images and if the reaction from the internet is anything to go by, they’ve got people thinking.