Rihanna's Ganesha Pendant Controversy

‘Our culture is not your costume’

Rihanna is back in the news after causing a stir on social media by expressing solidarity for farmers protesting in India. The international singer has ignited outrage once again, but this time for a different reason. The Umbrella singer recently posted a photo of herself wearing the pendant of Hindu deity Lord Ganesha on her Instagram account. The internet responded angrily to this, accusing the foreign pop star of disrespecting Hindu sentiments. Rihanna's Instagram post went viral almost instantly. The Twitterati erupted in anger. One of the users wrote: "Rihanna !! stop using my religion as an aesthetic !! that Ganesh figurine at the end of the chain :( is a holy and sacred figure for us Hindus.”

Shortly after the picture was posted, she was accused of cultural appropriation on social media. Ganesh (also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka) is a Hindu Deity who is worshipped as the Lord of Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles, giving wealth and success to those who worship him. One Twitter user noted: ‘'Super offensive wearing Ganesha like that. My first god, a holy sentiment to millions of people celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi every year. Sorry RiRi, you disappointed me and others.”

'This is really disrespectful to our religion,' one added.

The singer seems to have worn the necklace before, as she also shared a picture of herself wearing it on Instagram in 2019. Rihanna faced backlash for religious appropriation in October of last year, and she apologized for including London producer Coucou Chloe's controversial track "Doom" in her Savage X Fenty Vol.2 show. ‘I do not play with any kind of disrespect toward God or any religion and therefore the use of the song in our project was completely irresponsible,' an excerpt of her statement read. Coucou Chloe also apologized and accepted "full responsibility" for her lack of research into the song's lyrics. Rihanna has received backlash after tweeting about an ongoing civil dispute in India between farmers and the Indian government.