Rihanna‘s decision to include Johnny Depp in the upcoming Savage x Fenty lingerie show has led to a backlash among her fans, just days after her return to music.
The reaction to the announcement has been scathing, to say the least. When her fans learned that Rihanna allegedly personally requested Depp to participate in the show, they took to social media to call out the “Diamonds” star for enabling a problematic celebrity.
Producer Drew Dixon called Rihanna out on Twitter for enabling Depp and pointed to the disturbing implications of Rihanna’s validation of the former Pirates of the Caribbean star, writing, “Never expected such a powerful woman to succumb to the #MeToo backlash. Really disappointing.”
Other Twitter users are especially shocked considering Rihanna’s very public history with domestic abuse, following her assault in 2009 by then-boyfriend Chris Brown.
Babyonaplane made the point that Rihanna, a billionaire, is unlikely to be concerned with her fans’ reaction to her decision but is hoping that her team might be able to get through to her.
Even Rihanna fan accounts are demanding that the superstar recognize that her fans stand firmly against Depp and remove him from the Savage x Fenty show.
Meanwhile, others are just shocked and stunned at the decision.
It remains to be seen whether or not Rihanna will address her fans’ concerns or will push forward with her decision to include Depp in the fashion show, and we’ll find out when it hits Amazon Prime Video on Nov. 9.
This is quite the controversy for Rihanna to return to the scene with, having only released her first song in six years, “Lift Me Up”, last week.