Rihanna, 32, didn’t appreciate it when one Instagram follower told her voting doesn’t changes things and she made it known in a straightforward response. The singer took to the social media site on June 2 to share a post that included the names of states that are having their primary elections today and encouraged her fans to vote in the caption.
“VOTE. Ya ain’t got sh*t else to do man! Get yo ass off the couch and go vote!!! I don’t wanna hear another excuse!! Stop believing that your vote and voice don’t matter! This the illest way to protest…vote for the change you want!!!” the caption read.
After a fan responded with, “Voting ain’t gon change sh*t, RiRi was quick to call them out. “sick of hearing this! Ya know what ain’t gon change sh*t? Not doing sh*t!!!!” she wrote. The states that were included in her post were Pennsylvania, Maryland, Indiana, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, and District of Columbia.
Rihanna’s post and clap back comes after thousands around the country have protested to seek justice for the tragic death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died in Minneapolis, MN on May 25 after local police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on his neck for almost nine minutes during an arrest for alleged “forgery”. Although some of the protests have unfortunately included violence, there have been many peaceful demonstrations that included many supportive people, including celebrities, marching and holding signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and other phrases in favor of change.
Rihanna first spoke out about Floyd’s death and the need for change in an Instagram post on May 29. The post included a photo of Floyd and a lengthy caption that revealed she was feeling an “overwhelming magnitude” of “devastation, anger, sadness” and disbelief over the details of Floyd’s death. “If intentional MURDER is the fit consequence for ‘drugs’ or ‘resisting arrest’….then what’s the fit consequence for MURDER???!” she concluded the powerful post.