After photos of Ethan Hawke joking around with Rihanna surfaced after her stunning performance at the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, Gwyneth Paltrow scolded him in good fun.
In a series of throwback photos, Gwyneth Paltrow scolds Ethan Hawke for slouching while chatting with pop starlet – Rihana
On Monday, Ethan posted photos from the 2015 conversation he had courtside with Rihanna at the 64th NBA All-Star Game in New York City, and the 50-year-old Oscar-winning actress jumped into the comments section.
The photos, which have been shared online on and off over the years, appear to show the 52-year-old actor swapping seats with his son Levon, now 21 years old, in order to have a chat with the pop superstar.
After he shared the photos again, Gwyneth poked fun at her co-slouched star’s posture.
‘Could you sit up straight, for god’s sake? You’re sitting next to Rihanna!’ she kidded in the responses.
The first photo told a funny story, showing Levon sitting between Rihanna (who was wearing a stylish all-denim outfit, mauve open-toe stilettos, and hoop earrings) and a friend.
However, in subsequent pictures, it appeared that Levon had been moved to the side, and Ethan had taken the middle seat between Rihanna and him.
The star of Boyhood, who had previously been leaning forward intently as he spoke with his son, slouched back in his chair as he animatedly conversed with the singer, as if he were trying to affect a cool, carefree pose.
Perhaps he was trying too hard to appear casual, but he and Rihanna appeared to be having a good time chatting.
He captioned the photo, “After Rihanna’s brilliant half time performance, I’m hoping my son can find it in his heart to forgive a Dad for taking his moment,” in response to critics who said he ruined his son’s opportunity to meet the singer.
Many famous people chimed in to express their approval of the pictures.
Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen exclaimed, “BEST PIC EVER,” and Poker Face actress Natasha Lyonne approved with three fire emojis.
Cat Power posted a red heart and several crying and laughing emojis, while Carla Gugino did the same but added flames to hers.
Ethan’s desire to remind his 1.1 million followers of his encounter with Rihanna is understandable, given the apparent success of her Super Bowl performance the night before.
A dozen of her most popular songs, including “Only Girl in the World,” “We Found Love,” “Work,” and “Diamonds,” were performed during her brief 13-minute set.
After the show, fans couldn’t get enough of her music, as evidenced by a huge spike in her Spotify streaming numbers.
More than a six-hundred-and-forty-percent increase in streams of her music was reported by the streaming service after the performance.
Instead of starting with one of her more popular album tracks, she started with the more obscure B**** Better Have My Money.
Streaming numbers increased an astounding 2,600% after her performance, even though the song was still only a moderate hit by her standards.
Despite the obvious financial potential of the song selection, Rihanna, like all previous Super Bowl halftime performers, will be performing for free.
There was a 65 percent increase in streams on Spotify for Chris Stapleton, who sang the Star-Spangled Banner, and a 70 percent increase for Sheryl Lee Ralph, who sang Lift Every Voice And Sing before the game.