'Slap Rihanna' Ad Does Not Go Over Well With Rihanna

Or anyone else, for that matter
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 15, 2018 4:02 PM CDT
'Slap Rihanna' Ad Does Not Go Over Well With Rihanna
Singer Rihanna gestures during a meeting in Dakar, Senegal Friday Feb. 2, 2018.   (AP Photo/Mamadou Diop)

Snapchat is in hot water over an ad that appeared on its app asking if you'd rather "slap Rihanna" or "punch Chris Brown." Snapchat quickly pulled the ad after images of it appeared on social media, telling the BBC in a statement Tuesday that the ad "was reviewed and approved in error, as it violates our advertising guidelines. We immediately removed the ad last weekend, once we became aware." Rihanna herself responded in an Instagram story Thursday and refused to accept the apology, the Verge reports. "I'm just trying to figure out what the point was with this mess!" she wrote, per the New York Daily News. "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 (domestic violence) victims and made a joke of it!!!"

Snapchat responded to Rihanna's comments, telling the Verge the ad was for a game app called "Would You Rather" and that the game has since been blocked from any advertising on Snap. "This advertisement is disgusting and never should have appeared on our service," Snapchat said in its statement. "We are so sorry we made the terrible mistake of allowing it through our review process. We are investigating how that happened so that we can make sure it never happens again." The company noted it supports the National Network to End Domestic Violence and has the group's executive VP on its Safety Advisory Board. Multiple people, from activists to former first daughter Chelsea Clinton, have called out Snapchat for approving the ad in the first place. Rihanna was the victim of domestic violence at the hands of Brown in 2009. (More Rihanna stories.)

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