One day after Farrakhan’s speech, Rihanna tweeted, “I certainly don’t think u are swine! But a holy man of God does!!” and “A minister says I perform filthy, sat [+] watched the filth, then called u SWINE for doing the same! Haa, is that judgment in our tone?”
But, according to Farrakhan’s camp, the pop diva didn’t have the full story and was needlessly offended.
A representative for Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam released a statement saying, “He would never say such about Rihanna herself, the person. It was not the person, it was the general act and what it represents. The full text is offered so that any evil or any ill-intended misrepresentation of his words regarding our sister, Rihanna, would not incite our Sister or those who love her to respond negatively to the effort to uplift our people.”
The released text reads: “When the Mahdi [reformer] comes, he kills the swine. It doesn’t mean he just goes around killing pigs, but the demon in you is akin to the behavior of a swine. Swine love filth. How about you? I saw my beautiful sister the other night at the Grammy awards. Rihanna. My poor sister, she’s dressed almost with a pair of draw[er]s. And got her legs wide open and just grinding away.
Ahhh, look at Rihanna, Go on girl. If that didn’t revolt you, you’re beginning to be a swine. When you can sit down and listen to somebody and every third word [is] ‘M-F’ this means you’re a swine. .. Swine love filth. How about you?”
It’s apparent that Rihanna’s image is a bit oversexed, but black musicians have historically been rewarded by major record labels for provocative images and songs.
Hopefully, Farrakhan and Rihanna can team up and find productive ways to build self-esteem in young black girls. –amir shaw
