For years, the issue of cultural appropriation has appeared on the headlines of newspapers and magazines alike. Recently, however, international and national fans were shocked to learn that Rihanna had been the most recent celebrity caught appropriating and disrespecting another culture.

Rihanna has been loved by many for years. From her music to her highly praised makeup brand, Fenty Beauty, her efforts have always been known to promote diversity. Thus, it’s fair to say that fans were both shocked and disappointed to see that Rihanna herself had disrespected Muslim culture. During Fashionweek, Rihanna uploaded a virtual runway show to broadcast her new Savage x Fenty lingerie collection. While her brand had been praised for inclusivity, it now faces criticism as a song used during the runway happened to sample a hadith. As hadiths are considered to be sacred Islamic texts, using them to promote a lingerie collection is a direct insult to the community. 

To make matters worse, many began to note that former shows had also appropriated Muslim culture as models were often seen wearing scarves in a similar fashion to hijabs. According to Time of 2020, a TikTok user had commented “my religion is not y’alls aesthetic” in order to emphasize how disrespectful Rihanna’s decisions have been. Rihanna not only used traditional aspects of a culture to churn out a profit, but she had disrespected the community as well by using sacred texts for a lingerie fashion show.