Rihanna Goes Off During Esquire UK Interview, Tired of Talking About Chris Brown – Does She Have A Point?
It’s been three years since “the incident” left Rihanna bloody and fearing for her life. Since then she and ex-flame Chris Brown have made amends, and records, and have both seemed to move on from that fateful February night.
Despite their willingness to let bygones be bygones, the media—and their fans—just can’t seem to let it go. Although it’s been three years since the pop stars split, rumors of reconciliation have continued to persist and only grew stronger when the pair teamed up for two songs, one of which seemed to indicate they were getting it in (or wanted to).
Recently, during a recent interview with Esquire UK for the June issue, things got a bit dicey after the interviewer asked Rihanna about her now infamous collaboration with Chris Brown. Although many may have wanted the backstory of how they came to work together, let’s just say RihRih was not happy to be talking about her ex yet again.
Peep an excerpt of the transcript:
Esquire: What has been the Twitter response to the Chris Brown remixes?
Rihanna: Some love it, some hate it, some love it but hate that we did it. But the response in the end has been incredible.
Esquire: Was that [the recording session] the first time you’d seen him in a while?
Rihanna: When would we have seen each other? We’ve both been working and touring. [changes the subject]. This is really good food.
Esquire: It proved quite a controversial thing.
Rihanna: Well…definitely. Definitely. It caught me a little off-guard to be honest…especially the amount of…negative attention. Because it never occurred to me how this was a problem, you know. It really didn’t.
Esquire: Because enough time had passed that it was OK?
Rihanna: I thought people were gonna be surprised that we finally did a record together, but I didn’t see how people could think it was a bad thing, you know? In my mind, it was just music.
Esquire: Some people felt it sent the wrong message.
Rihanna: [Angrily] What was that? What message would that be?
Esquire: You’d gone back to someone who put you in the hospital.
Rihanna: [Getting angry] Oh really? Did I?
Esquire: Well… yes.
Rihanna: Did I? Did I? Did I?
Esquire: You went and recorded with him, yes.
Rihanna: Okay. In a completely professional environment. And on a complete professional note. I mean, if I went back to him [as a girlfriend], then that’s a whole different discussion. And if I ever do, then that’s something that y’all have to talk to me about when – if – that ever happens. Until then, look at it for what it is. I think a lot of people jumped to an assumption that was incorrect and they ended up looking stupid.
Esquire: The assumption you were dating again?
Rihanna: Because of a song. How stupid. If I was together with every collaborator I worked with… f-ck my life.
Esquire: Still, the lyrics didn’t do much to dispel that impression. His opening line is “Girl I want to fuck you right now/been a long time/I’ve been missing your body”. You reply: “Remember how you did it/If you still want to kiss it/Then come and get it”.
Rihanna: That was the tone before he was even on the record. You think it was going to be about hopscotch or jump rope?
Esquire: So neither of you for a minute thought “This is going to put the cat among the pigeons”?
Rihanna: I could never see anything wrong with making music.
Esquire: Maybe the thing is that as an artist your personal and private life are intertwined, and you’ve already played on this. The first song you put out after the beating incident was “Love the Way You Lie”, about domestic violence.
Rihanna: Absolutely. But Love The Way You Live was me as an artist working with Eminem as an artist, telling our stories individually. On a track together. I’m lost. I’m confused as to what you’re trying to get at.
Esquire: That it’s hard to separate the person who’s been the victim of domestic violence and the pop star singing about domestic violence.
Rihanna: I know. And that’s how f-cked up society is. There’s a lot of sh-t y’all can’t get over. Y’all holding your breath on a lot of stuff that doesn’t matter. When you realize who you live for, and who’s important to please, a lot of people will actually start living. I am never going to get caught up in that. I’m gonna look back on my life and say that I enjoyed it – and I lived it for me- and God. This is turning into a tacky interview. What do you really want to talk about? I’m not here to [talk] about messy sh-t.
Esquire: It’s just what’s been making the headlines recently.
Rihanna: OK! So do you want to talk about everything on Google? Or do you want to talk about stuff that my fans want to know? Let’s get to the real stuff. The stuff that’s important.
Esquire: What do your fans want to know?
Rihanna: You tell me, as a journalist. You’re asking the questions and I give you the answers. I can’t give the questions too.
Esquire: I’m sorry it’s upset you.
Rihanna: It hasn’t upset me. It upsets me that you keep asking the same kind of questions about stuff that’s trivial. What’s there to talk about? Are all your questions like that? Let’s move onto the next one.
Esquire: It’s just that you haven’t given an interview for a while. A lot has happened.
Rihanna: You think I haven’t given an interview for a while? I did four this morning.
Esquire: Did they go any better than this?
Rihanna: We’ll see [when they come out] tomorrow
As a writer, I understand asking artists tough questions. Although both claim they have moved on, Rihanna and Chris Brown used the “Cake” collaboration to garner buzz and stoke the rumors that they were reuniting.
So can Rih really be mad people still ask her about Breezy or should journalists and fans just move on?
Speak on it!
She chose to record with him so she reaps the consequences, good and bad. Interviewers ask questions about all kinds of things. She should have expected it and been prepared.
Honestly, I don’t think it was a great idea for them to record together. It wasn’t like it was necessary for either of them professionally. They’re both selling records. But when she says she didn’t think people would be negative about it – I have to wonder about her common sense. Surely she didn’t think nobody would comment.
I don’t know – these two (Chris & Rhianna) have a lot of growing up to do.
Exactly. I find Rihanna’s reaction extremely disingenuous. She’s recording songs full of unsubtle references to her history with Chris Brown, and then she gets mad when people notice that and comment upon it? And she has a nerve to accuse the *writer* of dredging up the past, when her work (the “important” topic, she says) constantly alludes to it? Rihanna is full of it–she and Chris need to go crawl under a rock and not be seen for at least 10 years.
Thank you to both Margaret and April–apt comments indeed.
They do need to both grow up. I kinda wish they would just disappear (from the media) for a while….smh. Unfortunately, it’s these super-young “ride or die” fans that keep validating them.
Ri has no right to get upset with this line of questioning..it’s exactly what her fans want to know..are you ok with reconnecting with Chris? Fans reached out to her on Twitter and she was nasty towards them for showing concern for her safety. People who stood up for her three years ago still want to stand for her today..Ri you can’t throw up your middle finger towards those people. No one would question how you and Chris are when you’re together if you & him just had a little argument three years ago. He bashed ya face in & people can’t forget that so easily. So instead of gettin angry be thankful for the fans that care about you..they may not always be around
She has no right? You cannot decide for someone else what they can and cannot be/get upset about.
i agree w teiko!
i think rihanna handled the interview really well; the interviewer should have stopped upon realizing that the questions were making her feel uncomfortable.
to be honest, I can’t even believe that they ACTUALLY released this interview! like she said, it makes the magazine look tacky.
the questions he was asking- those are questions paparazzi and people at TMZ ask, not a well respected mag like esquire.
but i’m proud of her :)
she seems to have her head together- you can’t live for anyone but yourself and God- if you let the thoughts or opinions of others define and mold you, you would live a compromised life, who the fuck wants that?
to look back on your life and think ..what if?, when really it was a few people (whom you no longer remember or never knew in the first place) who in an indirect way, controlled your actions?
i’m not going to live my life that way, and neither should she!
love this girl <3
She can do what she wants. She’s grown. I’m a huge fan of both of them. I personally think that there was a lot more to their domestic incident than people want to admit, but even I am willing to move on past it and not judge either one of them.
What’s the problem with the collabs? They’re both dope, and they’re two of the most popular young artists out today. She chose Chris for the record because he’s poppin’, and he chose her for his record because he was paying back the favor.
It’s like we want to continue to victimize her and criminalize him, and they both hate it. Stop doing it. As fans, you’re not helping them, and as haters, you’re doing worse. And if you don’t care either way, well… you wouldn’t even be reading this article, now would you? Seriously, they’re f***ing pop singers, not politicians or philanthropists. Ask them about music, clothes, traveling, performing, sex, and things of that like.
When u choose to live life in the public eye, you have to take the good with the bad. Rihanna likes to use the media when it’s benefiting her. She has to grow up & learn how to deal professionally when things don’t go the way she wants.
oh, this ‘when you choose to live your life in the public eye thing’
PLEASE. :|
some of you will just about tolerate anything to happen to another person, maybe because they have so much money that such treatment is justified?!
she wanted to be a singer when she was a preteen.
god, who doesn’t?!
she had the opportunity to do so and quickly got management that encouraged her to strive for goals they set for her.
and now she’s supposed to be a slave to everyone?
answer questions that are nobody’s business, dress in the right clothes (not too provocative because there are girls who listen, not too dark because she would be compared to madonna), say the right things at the right times in the “professional” way you and everyone expects, etc.
do some of you realize that given the expectations or guidelines you set for other people, nobody would be allowed to truly live?
do you have these expectations for yourself?
hows your life, really? how is it? do you think its as necessary when people criticize your lifestyle and choices?
i know its part of human nature to point the finger, but some of you haters need to find a hobby or reproduce so you can fulfill your desired parental roles or whatever.
There are costs associated to everything, fame included @ stellaxo, IDK but I think that was all Michelle hinted at *shrug*
Move the hell on already! As a journalist if you follow Rih Rih then you obviously know that her interviews go left after her love life is mentioned. I wish they would talk about her career and let the girl live! We were all young once and we are all entitled to make a few crazy decision along the way.