Reflect On Rihanna’s Twitter Reign As ‘Black Twitter’ Doc Premieres On Hulu
Rihanna is the true definition of a savage, but long before she became a fashion/beauty mogul and a mother of two, she dominated social media—specifically Twitter—with her scorching clapbacks and infamous feuds.
This truly unhinged time in Twitter history was over a decade ago during the social platform‘s infancy. While other celebs were finding their footing, Rih was busy getting into it with anyone from Ciara, Teyana Taylor, Piers Morgan, MTV, and TLC.
As seen in Hulu’s new documentary, Black Twitter: A People’s History, the colorful cast of contributors including Kid Fury, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Naima Cochrane, and Jemele Hill, RIH-act to the singer’s savage origin story (watch with a 30-day free trial to Hulu here).
“Rihanna’s reign on Twitter was a time,” said Kid Fury in a snippet from the doc (below). The Anti songstress joined the platform in late 2009. “I personally would love to take some of her shadiest tweets and make her baby a quilt using them. He needs to know and understand the impact that his mama made on social media. I swear Rihanna posted her net worth next to Teyana Taylor’s. God, that woman was ruthless,” the comedian/screenwriter joked.
Back then, Rihanna admittedly (albeit comically) ran out of f**ks to give and “did what she was known to do.” Rih’s short-lived beef with Ciara came after the latter claimed she ran into Rih at a party, but she wasn’t very nice to her. To which the “Diamonds” singer tweeted, “My bad Ci, did I forget to tip you? #howrudeofme”
Ciara bucked up and responded, “Trust me, you don’t want to see me on or off the stage.” Rihanna famously replied, “Good luck booking that stage you speak of.” She later apologized, writing, “Ciara baby, I love u girl! U hurt my feelings real bad on TV! I’m heartbroken! That’s y I retaliated this way! So sorry! #letsmakeup.”
The “Goodies” singer also confessed that her feelings were hurt, but she did accept the apology.
This piece of Black history and more is detailed in Hulu‘s three-part docuseries, based on Jason Parham’s WIRED article, A People’s History of Black Twitter. It is currently streaming on Hulu.
