That’s no way to treat the navy!
Rihanna raised eyebrows on Thursday, May 15, when she appeared to poke fun at one of her teenage fans, a member of Rihanna’s Navy, as the fandom calls itself.
Alexis Carter, 16, took style inspiration from the singer, 26, for the Hollywood-themed prom at her Baltimore high school. In March 2010, Rih wore a head-turning teal Alexandre Vauthier winged jumpsuit.
Carter designed a similar style of her own, sharing photos of her prom ensemble on social media.
Memes quickly took off showing the teen with her arms extended, the material from her wings on full display. In one shot, Carter is shown next to glamorous red carpet photos of Rihanna, with an “Instagram vs. Real Life” comparison of the outfits. In another viral photo, Carter’s pose is set next to the curved W of the Wu-Tang Clan symbol.
Rihanna shared the images on her Twitter account, adding a frowny face to the comparison with her photo, and writing, “She gets it” for the Wu-Tang joke.
While the reaction on social media was far from positive, Carter told the New York Daily News that the outfit was well-received at the dance, with classmates telling her, “Oh my god, I love it. It looks nice, your body looks good, it’s different.”
Once a fan of the “What Now” singer, Carter told NYDN that she has changed her tune. “I was very offended,” she said about Rihanna’s tweets. “Why throw shade on it when you had on the exact same thing? The pose was different but the outfit wasn’t. She doesn’t love her fans like she says she does.”
