Shutterstock; Backgrid; Getty Images; Melissa Herwitt/E! IllustrationThere's a challenge that's been going 'round the internet that goes a little something like this:
You open up Google and type in Rihanna's name followed by the month and day of your birth. And the corresponding photos that your search yields are like your own Rihanna-approved horoscope, with the outfit you get supposedly being the perfect match to your overall vibe. And the thing is, it kinda works. Go ahead and try it. We'll wait.
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Welcome back. And see what we mean? There's a Rihanna lewk out there for everyone.
But more to the point, the challenge has become such an internet sensation because there's never a moment that Rihanna isn't slaying the game. Period. End of story.
And just like Rih's fashion game is always on point, so is every other aspect of her life. Her music? Fire. Her businesses? Making millions while changing the game in terms of inclusivity. Her love life? Moved on from a billionaire to a rapper just because she could. Her humanitarianism? Unparalleled. And her personality? Talk about BDE.
In honor of Robyn Rihanna Fenty, the pride of Barbados', 32nd birthday on Thursday, Feb. 20, we thought we'd celebrate her the best way we know how: By shining a spotlight on each and every time her entire existence had us all living. And don't get it twisted, she wasn't lying when she said we needed her.
In 2015, as one of Rih's friends captured on social media, the songstress enjoyed a night out on the town and returned home "with a cage, wee-wee pads, food — and a f--king dog!" "Well, I found him in a bathroom somewhere," she explained. "He ran up to me." So, she brought him home with her and named him Pepe. Naturally.
You know that iconic GIF of Rihanna inside a black SUV, rolling up the window as she rolls her eyes in contempt? Of course you do. Chances are you've sent it to someone in the last week. That little slice of heaven came about, captured by a TMZ photog, as Rih was leaving a club and some dude on the street asked her to say hi to someone for him. And what she says before she rolls up that window is just as iconic as the GIF itself. "Tell her your damn self if you know her," she quipped, never missing a beat.
After playing a show in Berlin in 2016, Rih hit up the ninth Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, an international art exhibit, where a giant statue of her kneeling down while wearing a bikini and sunglasses, but missing a head, entitled Ewaipanoma (Rihanna) was displayed. Created by Colombian artist Juan Sebastian Pelaez, the statue was inspired by a paparazzi photo of the singer on the beach. Naturally, she took a selfie in front of it, replicating the pose Pelaez had chosen to forever immortalize her in. "Went to visit my boob the biggest they'll ever be," she captioned the photo on Instagram. "Too wild."
After Ciara said that Rih "wasn't the nicest" during a 2011 appearance on Fashion Police," Rihanna responded on Twitter, writing, "My bad ci, did I 4get to tip u? #howrudeofme." And if that savagery wasn't enough, when Ciara responded with a warning that RiRi wouldn't want to see her "on or off the stage," she clapped right the hell back: "Good luck with bookin that stage u speak of."
To encourage people to vote in the 2016 presidential election, she wore a shirt that showcased a photo of herself wearing a shirt with Hillary Clinton on it. The layers!
During a 2016 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Rih partially revealed her tour rider, aka the list of items she likes each venue to have on hand when she arrives, and it included both regular Cheetos and Hot Cheetos because Rihanna knows what's up. Explaining why to Ellen, she said, "I just like to be prepared. You never know what mood you're gonna be in."
Pick a year, any year.
Not even for Kendall Jenner. Back in 2013, a Rihanna fan account re-posted a tweet from the then-burgeoning model in which she said, "If Rihanna doesn't perform Complicated tomorrow I'm gunna [sic] be very upset." Rih's response: "Well don't come."
As Rih was launching her Rogue Man fragrance back in 2014, she was asked by a reporter on the red carpet what she was looking for in her next man. Her response? "I'm not looking for a man. Let's start there." And end it there, too, it would seem!
Sitting courtside during Game 1 of the 2017 NBA Finals, Rih was not feeling the Golden State Warriors' small forward as he took on the Cleveland Cavaliers and their then-star (and her fave) LeBron James. At one point, she went so far as to shout "Brick!" as he attempted a free throw.
...even if it was still in the restaurant's definitely not-disposable glassware. But if there's anyone on this planet who can get away with straight-up stealing wine glasses that are still half-full of her signature red, it's Rihanna. As she has over and over and over. (Seriously, it's a thing she does often. And it's amazing.)
"Night at the spa, but make it fashion." - Rihanna, probably.
And what's good wasn't the beats he had to offer her. As the hit maker revealed to GQ, he'd begged Rih to sing on his and DJ Snake's future smash, "Lean On," only for her to reply, "I don't do house music." Elsewhere in the interview, he admitted that he'd once played her another track during a late-night studio sesh with Future and her reaction was even more withering: "This sounds like a reggae song at an airport."
Not only did she join Calvin Harris during his set at the music festival's 2012 outing for an electrifying performance of their hit "We Found Love," but she took in the rest of the weekend as spectator, perched atop her security guard's shoulders were she was photographed rolling a damn (and, at the time, still illegal in the state of California) joint, no f--ks given.
...just because she could. To promote her 2012 album Unapologetic, Rihanna chartered a jet for a globetrotting tour that wound up being rather torturous for all those involved whose names weren't Rihanna. Amid complaints that the journos in attendance didn't really get to spend much time with the star, she wound up apologizing for the bungled event, which, if you ask us, just might be the most BDE thing of all.
At the CFDA Fashion Awards in 2014, the recipient of the Style Icon Award proved why she was more than worthy of the title when she showed up covered in 230,000 crystals and little else. And when asked if she was planning on wearing the show-stopping Adam Selman creation out after the event, she didn't skip a beat: "Why? Yes, I am. Do my t-ts bother you? They're covered in Swarovski crystals!" Amen.
After Drizzy confessed his love for his frequent duet partner and one-time love interest as he presented her with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2016 MTV VMAs, Rih pulled the ultimate power move as she took the stage and her former beau went in for a kiss. Instead of granting him the honor, she turned her head and forced him into one hell of an awkward nuzzle instead. Didn't they tell you that she was a savage?
Echoing her iconic CFDA Awards look, Rih attended Coachella in 2017 as only she could—with a head-to-toe bedazzled bodysuit underneath her Gucci tank and cut-off jean shorts. "I can't go home yet, cuz enough people ain't seen my outfit," she captioned the lewk on Instagram.
Find us a person who wasn't living when Rih was caught on camera pulling out her bejeweled flask during the lengthy three-plus hour broadcast as she turned to her neighbor in the Staples Center and announced, "I think it's time for another shot," and we'll find you a liar.
When Rih showed off her costume for Barbados' annual summer festival, it was game over. Enough said.
Is it a coincidence that the same year Rih's groundbreaking Savage X Fenty show changed the game with its inclusive-in-every-sense-of-the-word nature saw Victoria's Secret, just months later, confirm that their antiquated show wouldn't be happening? We think not.
Happy birthday, RiRi!
(Originally published on February 20, 2019 at 8 a.m. PT.)