Rihanna might just be a metalhead. In the past, she's been spotted in Judas Priest shirts (Rob Halford approved), Krokus shirts and gaudy metal jackets and sweatpants. If nothing else, she does enjoy the metal aesthetic.
And that was clear during one of her four (!) performances at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, when a giant death metal styling of her name flashed across the screen during a medley of her more "edgy" songs like "Bitch Better Have My Money," a song Korn took it upon themselves to make more metal in the past. A quick browse of Twitter shows that people mostly approve, and want to grab a shirt. We've collected the tweets below.
Rihanna follows the new trend of metal in mainstream fashion. Harper's Bazaar has deemed metal tees the look of the summer. Justin Bieber is selling a Marilyn Manson tee with his death metal logo on it for $195. And everybody from Metallica to Marilyn Manson are enlisted in fashion campaigns.
https://twitter.com/tsantos1121/status/770096114406133760
This metal band called 'Rihanna' seems cool, I wonder if they're playing at Vitus sometime soon #VMAs2016 pic.twitter.com/N4YMRz9DG8
— Tracy (@tracy_eff) August 29, 2016
Rihanna ? please ? stop ? appropriating ? black ? metal ? culture ? if ? you've ? never ? been ? to ? Scandinavia ?
— evan (@evcon) August 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/SeamusMenihane/status/770096824845729793
Will reimburse and pay for shipping for anyone who gets me the Rihanna shirt in the metal font they were wearing just now
— Bobby Mack (@bobby_mack_) August 29, 2016
If I saw this out of context, I would think Rihanna was the name of a sick death metal band.#VMAs pic.twitter.com/6XxNO1Kiga
— fadeout. (@ZeoVGM) August 29, 2016
i need a black metal font rihanna shirt immediately
— louis ck only fans (@dystopianchilis) August 29, 2016
Where can I get that Rihanna death metal print long-sleeve though?????
— maleina (@ImLame_JkIRule) August 29, 2016
Will reimburse and pay for shipping for anyone who gets me the Rihanna shirt in the metal font they were wearing just now
— Bobby Mack (@bobby_mack_) August 29, 2016
OK RIHANNA MERCH IS TIGHT
RIHANNA IS A DEATH METAL BAND NOW pic.twitter.com/ujuFfhQZzN
— Ervin (@ErvinOCTW) August 29, 2016
I'm Rihanna being a death metal band now
— mitri (mitri) (@sehunchis) August 29, 2016
Work hard & anything is possible. Thank you for this @rihanna. I dreamed of this since I was a little girl! #VMAs pic.twitter.com/wOFaIECy8b
— Parris Goebel (@ParrisGoebel) August 29, 2016
Rihanna follows Kim Kardashian wearing an overpriced Metallica tee, Kanye West proudly rocking a Megadeth t-shirt (and ridiculously gaudy metal sweatpants), as well as Kendall Jenner photographed wearing not just a Megadeth shirt but a Slayer t-shirt as well. Noisey has officially declared Kim punk as fuck.
Rihanna might have a death metal logo, but she's not as metal as Kesha.
MTV has posted the performance, which you might be able to view below, the death metal logo starts flashing around 1:40:
