Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show was diverse and also unique in a certain way. But off late it has been in a centre of the corner for criticism hurting Islamic values.
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A segment of the hourlong production was set to a musical track that reportedly included an Islamic Hadith—otherwise known as a “record of the traditions or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, revered and received as a major source of religious law and moral guidance, second only to the authority of the Quran, the holy book of Islam,” according to Britannica.com. Vocal samples of the Hadith had been sped up and layered over a dance track for the song “Doom” by London producer Coucou Chloe.
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Several understandably offended and, in some cases, absolutely outraged Muslim commenters called attention to the sacred Arabic text, which reportedly references “judgment day and the end of times,” according to Newsweek and multiple commenters online. No doubt the juxtaposition of the track under visuals of lingerie-clad models and Drag Race veterans Shea Coulee and Gigi Goode voguing down the runway added fuel to the fire; while many of us celebrated the representation and freedom of gender and sexual expression in this and other scenes throughout the Savage X Fenty show, all run contrary to traditional Muslim values.
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After a weekend of criticism on social media, Coucou Chloe issued a statement on her Twitter on Monday, apologizing for the use of the samples and announcing that the song would be removed from all streaming platforms. On Tuesday, Rihanna apologized in a statement posted to her personal Instagram account’s stories.
https://twitter.com/coucou_chloe/status/1313137444573806596
“I’d like to thank the Muslim community for pointing out a huge oversight that was unintentionally offensive in our Savage X Fenty show,” Rihanna wrote. “I would more importantly like to apologize for this honest, yet careless mistake. We understand that we have hurt many of our Muslim brothers and sisters, and I’m incredibly disheartened by this. I do not play with any kind of disrespect toward God or any religion and therefore the use of this song in our project was completely irresponsible! Moving forward, we will make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”