Seven cities in seven days is quite the ordeal—for us normal human beings at least. But today pop superstar Rihanna embarks on a seven-day intimate tour that begins in Mexico City and hits Toronto, Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, London and New York City in a week. All to see her fans and promote her new studio album, Unapologetic, out November 19.
RiRi’s going all out on this one—she’s packed a plane with diehard fans and reporters to chronicle this whirlwind tour. Right now I’m reporting from Los Angeles as we await further instructions before departing to her first gig in Mexico City.
So, who the hell am I? I’m Rich Lopez, formerly with the Dallas Voice, where I reported on music, entertainment and lifestyle with a queer bent. Before that, I covered both local nightlife and music for the alt-weekly the Dallas Observer. I like to think I know a little about music.
Right now it’s the calm before the storm—I’m boning up on Rihanna’s music catalog, figuring out what we’ll chat about, and counting my sleeping pills and No-Doz packets. (Don’t want to mix them up). I’ll be posting daily here on Queerty and via social media, so be sure to keep up by checking Queerty’s Twitter feed (#Rihanna777) and Facebook page.
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Brian
Rihanna is a known fan of dancehall acts from Jamaica who pepper their lyrics with homophobic slurs and incitements to kill gays and lesbians. She even joined one such act – Beenie Man – on stage in Jamaica after he had been exposed by the gay media. She’s not the kind of person Queerty should be promoting.
As for Rich Lopez, he’s sad. Sad, sad, sad. He seems like one of these types who loves his job worshipping celebrities who aren’t exactly gay-friendly.
Ryan
@Brian: Get a grip on reality. You don’t know anything about Rihanna or Rich Lopez. Rich Lopez is a reporter, and he’s doing his job. He isn’t even “worshipping” her in this article, he’s reporting on her. Do you understand the concept of journalism? Do you understand anything at all? Stop spreading the hate that you claim to be so adamantly against, it’s an ugly color on anyone, especially members of the LGBTQ community. You are clearly not living in the same world as the rest of us, because anyone that carries that much hate around for completely strangers can’t be very happy in their own life.
and for the record, this is a quote from Beenie Man in 2012,
“Let me make this clear and straight. I have nothing against no one. I respect each and every human being, regardless of which race or creed, regardless of which religious belief you believe in, and regardless of which sexual preference you are, including gays and lesbian people. I respect all human…Please I am begging you do not have me up for some songs I wrote a long time ago. I love each and every one and am just begging each and everyone to do the same.”
Brian
Ryan,
Get your head out of the clouds. You’re being borderline delusional.
Jamaican dancehall acts are known to have used homophobic and violent lyrics in their songs for at least 15 years. This includes lyrics along the lines of “hang the gay guy” and “burn the lesbian”. A lot of their current “apologies” are simply attempts to silence criticism of the songs which many of them continue to perform in public in front of adoring audiences.
Rihanna attended Beenie Man’s concert AFTER he had been exposed as expressing lyrics that call for the killing of gays and lesbians. She even joined him on stage in a demonstration of cute camaraderie. If you don’t believe me, look it up on You Tube.
If Rich Lopez wants to enable celebrities who support people like Beenie Man, he’s entitled to do so. Just don’t expect me to tolerate it.