Rihanna apologises for ‘honest, yet careless mistake’ of using controversial Islamic song at Savage x Fenty show

‘We have to understand that we have hurt many of our Muslim brothers and sisters,’ says singer

(Getty Images)

Rihanna has apologised for playing a controversial Islamic song at her Savage x Fenty lingerie show last week.

The song, called Doom by artist Coucou Chloe, includes a Muslim text known as a Hadith.

The Hadith is part of a collection of texts believed to be the spoken words of the Prophet Muhammad and is one of the most sacred and important religious texts to Muslims.

Rihanna was widely criticised earlier this week for her use of the song, with some social media users accusing her of cultural appropriation.

The singer has now said that use of the song was "irresponsible" and an "honest, yet careless mistake."

On Wednesday, Rihanna shared a statement via her Instagram story in which she thanked the Muslim community for “pointing out a huge oversight that was unintentionally offensive” in her annual lingerie fashion show, which this year starred Bella Hadid, Lizzo and Cara Delevingne.

“I would more importantly like to apologise to you for this honest, yet careless mistake,” she continued.

“We understand that we have hurt many of our Muslim brothers and sisters, and I’m incredibly disheartened by this!”

(Instagram/@badgalriri)

The 32-year-old concluded: “I do not play with any kind of disrespect toward God or any religion and therefore the use of the song in our project was completely irresponsible! 

"Moving forward we will make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Thank you for your forgiveness and understanding, Rih.”

The artist of the song, Coucou Chloe, has also apologised, insisting that she wasn’t aware the song contained sacred Islamic verses.

“I want to deeply apologise for the offence caused by the vocal samples used in my song Doom", she tweeted.

"The song was created using samples from Baile Funk tracks I found online. At the time, I was not aware that these samples used text from an Islamic Hadith.

“I take full responsibility for the fact I did not research these words properly and want to thank those of you who have taken the time to explain this to me.”

Chloe added that she and her team are in the process of removing the song from “all streaming platforms”.