After permitting suspected abuser Johnny Depp to participate in her Savage X Fenty fashion presentation, despite the actor's victory in the defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, Rihanna was criticized by her normally devoted supporters.
RadarOnline.com reported that Rihanna's followers were dissatisfied with her decision, particularly in light of the 2009 assault she endured at the hands of then-boyfriend Chris Brown.
They vented their displeasure on social media. RiRi and her crew invited Depp, 59, to have a "star" moment in her lingerie brand's Vol. 4 presentation, it was disclosed on Thursday. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor happily accepted the offer, and the cameo has already been filmed.
As the first male to appear in one of Rihanna's "star" moments, he will make history, but fans have varied feelings about the distinction.
"Rihanna going out of her way to, like, rehabilitate the image of a domestic abuser and rapist is f------ crazy cause the hell is johnny depp, a rapidly decaying corpse, going to do at a LINGERIE SHOW? but even past all that does she even know her audience?" one person spewed on Twitter.
"Rihanna dropped Draya for making inappropriate abuse jokes but is giving Johnny Depp (an abusive piece of s---) a segment on her show. What even is the correlation??" wrote another.
"Out of all the unproblematic white men in hollywood rihanna and her team go for johnny depp? like tf??" another wrote.
Although many disapproved of Rihanna's decision to include Johnny Depp, not everyone was angry with the singer-turned-fashion mogul.
Supporters said while others are currently attempting to discredit her for partnering with Johnny Depp, they tend to be forgetting that Rihanna is also a survivor of domestic violence who can identify other victims. Her support of Depp therefore is admirable because she's being honest and real as to recognising who's a real victim in an abuse situation, beyond gender. They said they appreciate Rihanna supporting Johnny Depp and honoring his work.
One abuse survivor using their influence to support another abuse survivor whom many have marginalized. That is a true queen, that is genuine authority, one said.
Depp sued Heard for an opinion piece she published in 2018 in which she claimed to be a survivor of domestic violence. She countersued, and the dispute was resolved in a public trial that lasted weeks.
The jury finally awarded the actor $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, the latter of which was reduced due to the state's statutory maximum or legal limit.
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