Throughout music history, there has been a long list of artists that were extremely controversial for one reason or another. For example, at one point Elvis Presley’s dancing was considered so outrageous that when he made his television debut, he was filmed from the waist up. More recently, rappers like the NWA, Ice-T, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem have all been in the crosshairs of parent groups due to the lyrics of their songs.
If it wasn’t amazing enough already that a singer could be branded a menace simply because of the way he moves his hips while dancing, many performers have been accused of much darker things. For example, artists like KISS, Lady Gaga, The Beatles, Led Zepplin, and Nicki Minaj have all been accused of being in league with the devil which is a truly wild claim.
Even though Rihanna hasn’t been accused of working on behalf of the dark lord, many people associate her with the conspiracy group known as the Illuminati. While that is ridiculous at face value, it turns out that Rihanna’s actions are part of the reason why the idea has picked up steam.
Musical Superstar
Easily among the most important voices of her generation, Rihanna has proven time and time again that she is a supremely talented singer. On top of her vocal skills, Rihanna also is a fascinating human being as she often has a lot of interesting things to say and her fashion choices always keep her fans guessing.
Given the fact that Rihanna is a masterful singer and she seems to have an innate ability to craft a unique and compelling image for herself, it makes sense that so many of her tunes are beloved. For example, Rihanna’s greatest hits include songs like “Umbrella”, “Take A Bow”, “We Found Love”, “Live Your Life”, and “Love The Way You Lie” among many others.
Rihanna’s Initial Illuminati Links
For a music video to serve its purpose, which is to draw attention to the performer and the song, the visuals need to be striking in one way or another. For that reason, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Rihanna has starred in some music videos that included some pretty wild images. Because Rihanna’s music videos tend to be so entertaining, many of them have been watched hundreds of millions of times on YouTube.
Of course, when somebody has a conspiracy on their mind, it is going to be pretty easy to read things into everything you see even if it isn’t there. For example, believers in the Illuminati conspiracy saw images of a goat and horns in a Rihanna music video and concluded she was working for the supposed group.
For those of you who have never heard of the Illuminati, they are a group of wealthy powerbrokers that supposedly exists and they pull the strings behind all of the world’s most notable events. A shadowy cabal that believers think is working to bring about a New World Order, they tend to be at the center of most conspiracy theories that take hold with the masses.
The Dawning Of A Surprisingly Powerful Nickname
After some observers linked Rihanna to the Illuminati, people who are less familiar with the singer may have expected her to either ignore them or go out of her way to deny their claims. Of course, Rihanna has never been afraid of controversies so fans of hers may have been able to predict that she would have some fun with the whole situation.
During the music video for Rihanna’s song “S&M”, the singer appears in many interesting scenes. During one sequence, Rihanna can be seen performing in front of a wall that sports a slew of fake newspaper headlines. While most people didn’t bother to read the words that appeared behind Rihanna, eagle-eyed viewers noticed that the words “Princess of the Illuminati” appear several times. Unsurprisingly, some people that already believed that Rihanna was working with that shadowy group saw that as confirmation.
Even though most people write off Rihanna’s supposed Illuminati ties, those rumors took hold and almost made a difference in her life. Set to travel to Senegal in 2018 in order to attend an NGO event, Rihanna’s arrival in that country became the subject of great controversy.
According to “around 30 religious organizations united under the collective name ‘No to freemasonry and homosexuality’” Rihanna shouldn’t have been allowed to enter Senegal. As for why, the collective claimed that the singer “flaunts her membership of the Illuminati” so they organized protests, some of which turned violent. Ultimately, Rihanna was allowed to attend the event in question.