Rihanna Responds To Body Shamers

It appears that Rihanna has finally responded to the writer who publicly body shamed her in a recent blog post. Chris Spags of Barstool Sports published an article earlier last week body shaming the Barbadian singer. The article titled “Is Rihanna going to make being fat the hot new trend” caught the ire of the internet, with many people criticizing the writer.

Rihanna posted a meme on Monday that seemed to take a shot at the article and all of her other body shamers. Since the article and the issue of her body shaming are trending at the moment, the meme can be considered as an acknowledgment of the issue. The Barstool Sports article that was published last week caught a lot of negative attention on social media, particularly for its harsh comments regarding Rihanna’s weight. In the 350-word rant, writer Chris Spags commented on Rihanna’s 2017 figure, calling her “fat” and saying that she looked like “she was wearing a sumo suit.”

True to her style, the witty meme showcases two side-by-side photos of rapper Gucci Mane with different weights, one from 2007 and one from 2017, the Mirror reports.

The meme read: “If you can’t handle me at my 2007 Gucci Mane, you don’t deserve me at my 2017 Gucci Mane.” As for the caption to the post, the singer simply included the tear in cheek crying emoji.

The Barstool Sports article by Chris Spags included comments such as Rihanna may have been enjoying “that good room service for a bit too long.” Spags didn’t stop there. He insinuated that Rihanna’s current figure could very well start a new “being fat” trend among women.

“A world of ladies shaped like the Hindenburg loaded into one-piece bathing suits may be on the horizon now that Rihanna is traipsing around out there looking like she’s in a sumo suit.”

Having taken direct jabs at one of the most popular popstars in the planet, Spags and Barstool Sports must have anticipated some kind of backlash to his article. And backlash he did get. Before he knew it, he had caught the ire of, it seemed, pretty much everyone on Twitter and other social media platforms. And the backlash wasn’t restricted to Rih’s fans. High profile publications such as Cosmopolitan and Allure also debunked Spags’ article. Cosmopolitan responded, calling Barstool Sports “a garbage sports site.” Allure tweeted the following.

“Using misogyny & body-shaming women as a way to earn Twitter engagement is a pretty pathetic path to success.”

Some of the other responses to the Barstool article included one that fired right back at Barstool writing.

“I’ve yet to come across one male employee at barstool that isn’t shaped like a lump of raw dough so congratulations you played yourself.”

Some were more direct in their response.

“Delete this s***. You are out of line.”

Another tweet stated that while such behavior is out of line, Barstool has always treated women badly and have always gotten away with it.

“There are no repercussions because this is what the site + readers want.”

Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, has already issued a “non-apology” to this backlash, writing that this article was not what he wanted his site and himself to be associated with forever. He added that he didn’t think the article was as bad as many were making it out to be.

“To be honest I don’t think the blog was as bad as many are making it out to be, but I’ll tell you this. It wasn’t that funny either and I could have told you with absolute certainty that feminists would hate it and use it as an example of ‘there goes Barstool being Barstool again.'”

[Featured Image by Denis Makarenko/Shutterstock]