Rihanna criticizes Snapchat for ad referencing domestic violence
(CNN) — Rihanna does not think much of Snapchat’s apology for an advertisement that appeared to mock her domestic violence incident with her former boyfriend, Chris Brown.
The ad, for a game called “Would You Rather?”, featured photos of the two singers and asked users if they would “rather slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown.”
Brown pleaded guilty in 2009 to assaulting Rihanna during an argument when they were dating.
The “Would You Rather” ad was removed earlier this week, and Snapchat released an apology.
“The advert was reviewed and approved in error, as it violates our advertising guidelines,” the company said in a statement obtained by CNN.
The majority of advertising on Snapchat is purchased through a self-serve advertising platform and subject to review, according to the company.
Rihanna posted a statement on Thursday about the incident on her Instagram story, criticizing the company for making light of domestic violence.
“Now SNAPCHAT I know you already know you ain’t my fav app out there! But I’m just trying to figure out what the point was with this mess!” the singer wrote. “I’d love to call it ignorance but I know you ain’t that dumb. You spent money to animate something that would intentionally bring shame to DV victims and made a joke of it.”
The award-winning singer ended by saying, “You let us down! Shame on you. Throw the whole app-oligy away.”
Snapchat responded to Rihanna’s posting in a statement to CNN on Thursday.
“This advertisement is disgusting and never should have appeared on our service,” the statement read. “We are so sorry we made the terrible mistake of allowing it through our review process”
The company added they are investigating what happened “so that we can make sure it never happens again.”
Some, including rapper Joe Budden, took Rihanna’s comments as wanting fans to delete Snapchat.
The incident comes weeks after the company’s stock took a tumble following reality star Kylie Jenner tweeting she no longer uses the app.
Related: Snapchat stock loses $1.3 billion after Kylie Jenner tweet
“We are so sorry we made the terrible mistake of allowing it through our review process,” the Snapchat statement concluded. “We are investigating how that happened so that we can make sure it never happens again.”
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
