Rihanna lingerie shoot sparks editing debate: 'A chance to show a real pregnant body'
Rihanna fans are debating if her latest image has been airbrushed, with some questioning if the singer missed a chance to celebrate and highlight the realities of pregnant bodies.
The Umbrella singer, 35, who is currently pregnant with her second child with rapper A$AP Rocky, bared her baby bump in order to celebrate the drop of her new Sheer X lingerie collection.
In a series of images, shared to Instagram last night, Rihanna put her bump front and centre as she posed for the camera.
"New fav’s ….sheer x group dropping rn! head over to savageX.com," she captioned the collection of shots.
While there's no doubt the mum-of-one looked incredible in the images, the flawless shots prompted some to question whether they had in fact been edited.
"Maaaan I love RiRi but I feel like this was her chance to show a REAL pregnant body - and of course she looks FABULOUS- but this is so touched up and airbrushed," one fan wrote.
"I feel like she is usually so with the women empowerment! Low key disappointed…. But still stan her as an artist!"
"NO to edited photos," another agreed. "Sick and tired of the Photoshop, show me somethin natural like with some stretch marks."
"Your baby bump has abs. Nice edit, girl!!" another user pointed out.
But other fans were hugely in support of the images, whether retouched or not.
"The real Queen," one fan commented.
"This isn’t a pregnancy shoot. It’s to feature her lingerie line," another debated. "You see she is in panties and a bra? Why would she have unedited photos to promote her product?"
"Who cares! It’s a photoshoot. Not every thing or post should be a woman empowerment agenda," another fan added in response.
Others pointed out that Rihanna has been regularly photographed showing off her bare baby bump in paparazzi shots that haven't been edited.
"Have you missed all the 'natural' photos of her freely walking around streets, beach??" one user wrote. "Also , she’s not responsible for any woman or man’s self esteem!!"
"So you mean to tell me you haven't seen her walking about bare belly around with no scratch mark or cellulite? This is an ad," another fan commented.
Watch: Rihanna shares snap of son RZA
Rihanna's pregnancy announcement
The singer dramatically revealed she was expecting her second child during the Super Bowl just as her performance began.
As she was about to start singing, she pulled open her outfit and rubbed her hand over her growing bump, seemingly announcing her pregnancy, only nine months after the birth of her son on May 13, 2022.
Speaking ahead of the show she said that while she’d thought twice about performing at the Super Bowl, ultimately motherhood inspired her to take on the challenge.
The singer also recently reflected on her experiences of welcoming her first child, named RZA, into the world.
Introducing her son via a series of images for the latest issue and cover of Vogue, the new mum also shared a little about her parenthood journey so far.
In an interview for the fashion bible's March 2023 issue, the nine-time Grammy award winner said that while her birth "was beautiful" and that she felt "blessed" by the experience, those initial days as a family of three were hard to get her head around.
“Essentially, from one person I became two," the Fenty founder told the publication. "You walk into the hospital as a couple and leave as a family of three. It’s nuts."
Rihanna went on to describe those heady first few days of motherhood as "insane," adding that "you don't sleep. At all. Not even if you wanted to."
"We came home, cold turkey, had no one," she added. "It was just us as parents and our baby. Man, you're a zombie for the most part."
Read more on Rihanna
What are the potential implications of having babies close together like Rihanna? - Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read
Rihanna says motherhood empowered her to 'take on the world' - Yahoo Life UK, 2-min read
