Rihanna Showed Up Hours Late To High School Charity Event

Rihanna ran four hours late to what was supposed to be a charity appearance at Barrington High School in Chicago, blaming the city’s notorious traffic as the culprit.

The singer had planned to make an appearance for the high school after students there won a contest she sponsored. Rihanna asked high schools to put together a video of their charitable work, and Barrington students stood out for their efforts.

They raised $40,000 for victims of the tornado in Joplin, Missouri and raised another $700,000 in the Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society.

The pop star planned to meet with the students to congratulate and thank them, but Rihanna ended up very late.

Though she was running far behind, Rihanna kept her fans and Barrington students updates through Twitter updates.

“This Chicago traffic is not working,” Rihanna tweeted, showing a picture of her car sitting in traffic.

While she was running late, Rihanna also tweeted about some of the students’ accomplishments.

“They partnered up with Gigi’s Playhouse a Down syndrome awareness center and created a video for their banquet and raised 245,000,” she continued. “They travel to S. Dakota every year to help the people of the Native American community on the crow creek reservation! They raised 35,000 to build houses and help meet the needs of the communities.”

Even though Rihanna appeared to be doing her best, the singer’s tardiness didn’t go over well with the mostly female audience awaiting her. They grew increasingly restless after the school pushed the start time of the concert back from 1 pm to 2 pm.

By 5 pm Rihanna still had not arrived, and many were angry.

“It’s one thing to be fashionably late. This is just rude. Our lives don’t revolve around a pop star,” junior Patricia Halle told the Chicago Tribune. “Our school worked hard to win this. She should be more respectful.”

“Rihanna is pathetic. She shouldn’t be making us wait for her,” added Jaki Mora, a seventh grader.

But the teens reportedly forgave Rihanna for being late. When the singer finally did arrive, she was mobbed by students who were starstruck. And to thank them for being so patient, Rihanna handed out tickets to her concert that night at the United Center.