Rihanna AFP PHOTO / PATRICK KOVARIK
Rihanna has castigated Snapchat for running an ad for a smartphone game that made fun of domestic violence.
The contentious ad read “Would You Rather … slap Rihanna” or “Punch Chris Brown”—an apparent reference to that 2009 incident where Rihanna suffered physical assault and criminal threats from her then-boyfriend Chris Brown.
And while Snapchat has apologized for its “terrible mistake” of unintentionally letting that “disgusting” ad appear on its service, the pop star was having none of it.
In an impassioned message posted as an Instagram Story, the recording artist called out Snapchat for “intentionally bringing shame” and “making a joke out of” victims of domestic violence.
“I would love to call it ignorance, but I know you ain’t that dumb! This isn’t about my personal feelings because I don’t have much of them. But all the women, children and men who have been victims of domestic violence in the past, and especially the ones who haven’t made it out yet … you let us down!”
“Shame on you,” she added.
Meanwhile, soon after the dressing down it received, Snapchat’s shares fell by almost 5 percent, according to a report by CNBC. —ALLAN POLICARPIO