Rihanna put on a great show at Super Bowl LVII, but some fans were upset that her first live performance in years didn’t seem to be completely in the moment.
Fans called Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance the ‘worst lip synching’ they had ever seen.
The halftime performance by Umbrella’s lead singer was a highlight of the Arizona game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rihanna performed while floating on a platform in the air, and she also announced that she is pregnant with her second child; therefore, she can be excused for not performing entirely live.
In order to focus on the complex choreography required for the Super Bowl halftime show, many performers have lip synced in the past.
Some of Rihanna’s listeners were dissatisfied because she seemed to be miming the words to her songs.
According to the tweets of one user: “Amazing how Rihanna is able to keep singing even when she puts the mic aside and doesn’t move her lips at all,”
Someone else said: “You know I love you but that’s the worst lips sinc ever. OMG”
“Lip syncing at the Superbowl should not be allowed,” said a third.
Isn’t Rihanna the richest woman alive? Why is she lip syncing? Just do your thing. #rihanna #lipsync #superbowlhalftimeshow pic.twitter.com/lcloKuC8pd
— ChrisCONVRDIST (@CConardist) February 13, 2023
Many, however, defended Rihanna, saying that her performance was among the best ever at a Super Bowl halftime show.
“Rihanna did her thing. She was stylish as f*** and played some of her best hits,” wrote one fan.
And another concurred: “Notice how she DEVOURED that? WHILE being pregnant? Robyn Rihanna Fenty, you’re one of a kind. A halftime show that will definitely be rihmembered!”
Though the performance was met with widespread acclaim, it was slammed by a jaded Donald Trump.
Even though he was the former president of the United States, George W. Bush could not keep his mouth shut and instead took to Truth Social to express his views.
He penned: “EPIC FAIL: Rihanna gave, without question, the single worst Halftime Show in Super Bowl history — This after insulting far more than half of our Nation, which is already in serious DECLINE, with her foul and insulting language. Also, so much for her ‘Stylist!”
Earlier this week, he publicly criticized the singer for having “no talent” in advance of her performance, so his comments come as quite a contrast.
The singer has been busy with side projects beyond music, including the 2017 launch of her Fenty Beauty line, which caters to women of all sizes and skin tones.
The following year, during New York Fashion Week 2019, she promoted her own lingerie line, Savage X Fenty, which had its debut the year before.
In 2020, she debuted her skin care line Fenty Skin, and in the following year, Forbes named her the wealthiest female musician in the world, with a net worth of $1.7 billion.
In October 2022, she dropped her first new single since 2016 called “Life Me Up,” marking the beginning of her long-awaited comeback to the music industry.
Rihanna received her first Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song for “Diamonds on the Ceiling,” which appeared in the Marvel film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman.