Some U.S. Catholics are protesting a cover photo of Rihanna dressed as a sexy Catholic nun, which many deem a “blasphemous” assault on religious sisters.
The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) launched a petition drive in protest of the Spring 2024 cover of Interview magazine, featuring Rihanna dressed as a Catholic nun, and an interview titled “Rihanna Is Ready to Confess.”
“In the cover photo, the debauched celebrity is dressed in the traditional clothing associated with nuns and sisters,” the group’s website states, calling Rihanna “a pop singer infamous for her vile songs and pornographic photo shoots.”
Rihanna attends the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018, in New York City. (Kevin Mazur/MG18/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
TFP asserts that Rihanna and Interview “scandalously mock the dignity of nuns in this issue.”
Or as one website described it, Interview put Rihanna on the cover as “a horny nun.”
By releasing this cover photo, Interview committed “a grave offense to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church and all religious orders,” the petition states. “There is no respect for the dignity of Catholics and their beliefs.”
Apart from the photo, however, the Rihanna interview is remarkably God-centered.
Speaking with Mel Ottenberg, her former stylist and the editor-in-chief of the magazine, Rihanna said that COVID sped up her relationship with American rapper ASAP Rocky, saying, “I felt like God knew what we needed because we were going to start a family. And had it not been for COVID, we would’ve taken a lot more time to get comfortable with each other, to even know that we were ready.”
Rihanna performs onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
“It was the best thing that ever happened to us. It just happened,” she added.
“I let God lead and just let go,” the pop star stated. “Because in previous relationships, I tried and tried and tried my best, and you still feel like it’s not enough. So when someone sees you completely, and believes in you, and thinks you’re worthy of being the mother of their kids, it’s a great feeling.”
Asked by Ottenberg how many more kids she wants, Rihanna replied, “As many as God wants me to have.”
Pressed on the question, she continued, “I don’t know what God wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl. But of course if it’s another boy, it’s another boy.”
Asked if she is surprised at where life has taken her, Rihanna answered, “The only thing that I knew I wanted, or that I could imagine, was motherhood. I didn’t know how it would come, but it is the best part of my journey so far. Everything else was a surprise.”
