Rihanna’s and Chris Brown’s huge controversy back in 2009 was so infamous that it is considered basic pop culture knowledge. Every 00’s teen knows that the singer was violently attacked and abused by her boyfriend at the time. Photos of her disfigured face were all over the media. Chris Brown was arrested, plead guilty, and sentenced to community service. People talked about it everywhere. The polemic was so intense that the story was spoken for months, even years: In 2015, Rihanna gave an interview talking about the topic, in 2017 Chris Brown apologized in his documentary, and in March of this year the case had once again returned to the spotlight when Snapchat, a commonly used social media platform, made a dark and twisted joke about the situation.
In a “Would you rather” game-like style advert, they asked if the user would prefer to “slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown”. Fans and people from all over the world from all kinds of social media immediately responded to the ad. They claimed that the platform wasn’t supposed to joke with that, once this subject could be delicate for people (like Rihanna) who suffered from domestic violence. The singer decided not to be quiet about it, instead, she replied to Snapchat on Instagram, stating: “Now SNAPCHAT I know you already know you ain’t my fav app out there! But I’m just trying to figure out what the point was with this mess. I’d love to call it ignorance but I know you ain’t that dumb. You spent money to animate something that would intentionally bring shame to DV victims and made a joke of it.”
As a result, Snapchat pulled the ad and put a brief apology for it, arguing that it indeed was against its violence conducts. They also claimed they would try to never make this same type of mistake again. After the scandal, the shares in the stock of the company dropped noticeably. In total, they lost approximately the possibility of making 1 billion dollars.
In this situation, the social media was not the platform that held a social dynamic, it was what incited the controversy. Due to a bad joke, Snapchat lost lots of users and potential money. Rihanna’s fans posted on twitter that they would delete the app in a way to boycott it. Snapchat making an apology and calling its own acts disgusting was not enough. In addition, once a big company like Snapchat make such mistake online, it can never be forgotten. Such experience also proves the power that digital influencers have on the mass.
If she tells me to delete snapchat I’ll do it @rihanna pic.twitter.com/yUW1UOzNc2
— Nicollette Williams (@nicollettemw) March 15, 2018
Rihanna said delete Snapchat so guess what I’m doing pic.twitter.com/XpSEry8PPY
— Agron (@Agronveliu97) March 16, 2018
Rihanna: Delete Snapchat
Me: Ok
Rihanna: And put this pound of Skittles into separate bowls by color
Me: Anything for you
Rihanna: Throw a brick through that Starbucks window
Me: Sure thing mom
Rihanna: Play me Pour It Up on the piano
Me: Will have to learn but coming right up— Maryellen Stewart (@maryellen) March 15, 2018
Citations
“http://time.com/5201774/snapchat-stock-drops-after-rihanna-statement/,” Rihanna Called Snapchat Out For a Domestic Abuse Ad. Now Their Stock Is Dropping. Time. N. p., 2018. Web. 8 Nov. 2018.
Levin, Sam, and Laura Snapes. “Rihanna Wipes $1Bn Off Snapchat After Criticising App For Making A ‘Joke’ Of Domestic Violence.” the Guardian. N. p., 2018. Web. 8 Nov. 2018.
“Rihanna Controversy Costs Snapchat Big As Stock Value Immediately Drops.” HuffPost UK. N. p., 2018. Web. 8 Nov. 2018.
Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. “Chris Brown Discusses Abuse Of Rihanna: ‘I Felt Like A Monster’.” the Guardian. N. p., 2017. Web. 8 Nov. 2018.
“Rihanna Responds To Controversial Snapchat Advertisement: ‘Throw The Whole App-Oligy Away’.” Billboard. N. p., 2018. Web. 8 Nov. 2018.