Note: These photos are from a Rihanna show in Canada on 3/18.
Being several hours late for a show must be a new trend for pop stars wishing to (for whatever reason) emulate Axl Rose. Only a few weeks ago, Justin Bieber kept thousands of his school-age fans waiting (and some went home early) when he was two hours late for a London concert. Now Rihanna has decided to be twice as bad by showing up over four hours late for a show at a Chicago high school on Friday afternoon. These poor kids were on spring break and waited all afternoon to see Rihanna because their school had won a contest for producing a video of their philanthropic work set to RiRi’s “Diamonds.” Students aided tornado victims in Joplin and provided assistance to Native Americans in South Dakota, and Rihanna couldn’t bother to honor her word and show up on time.
Her official excuse? Chicago traffic is bad, and Rihanna Instagrammed the following photo (when she was already three hours late) as proof, which is a very weak excuse. But here’s something even weaker — she only spent about 15 minutes performing for these students before leaving the premises.
Rihanna, clearly, does not make excuses.
The Barbadian superstar barely acknowledged her tardiness when took the stage at Barrington High School moments ago – despite being more than four hours and 30 minutes late for her much-anticipated visit. Her fans, nearly despondent minutes earlier, greeted her with wild applause and Beatlemania-type screaming.
“Thank you guys for coming and waiting,” the Barbadian signer said, before paying tribute to the school’s charitable works. Sixteen minutes and roughly a dozen smiling pictures later, RiRi was gone and her late arrival forgotten by a starstruck crowd.
It was hard to believe that only minutes earlier she was the cause of quite possibly the most angst-ridden moment in Barrington High School history.
The overwhelmingly female crowd had been patient in waiting for hours for her arrival after the school won a visit from the star. Teens have been chatting on their phones, grabbing snacks and braiding each other’s hair. Many have been at the school since the doors opened at noon.
Rihanna was originally supposed to start her visit at 1 p.m.; on Thursday evening, the school announced that had been pushed back to 2 p.m. As of 5 p.m., she still wasn’t at the school.
“It’s one thing to be fashionably late. This is just rude. Our lives don’t revolve around a pop star,” said junior Patricia Halle, who nicknamed the afternoon “the survive Rihanna event.”
“Our school worked hard to win this. She should be more respectful,” Halle said. Her friend Cassie Mullay said she was thinking about leaving, having waited since 1 p.m. “It’s so rude.” Seventh-grader Jaki Mora said: “Rihanna is pathetic. She shouldn’t be making us wait for her.”
At 4:22 p.m., Rihanna tweeted a picture from inside her vehicle and wrote, “This Chicago traffic is not working.” The DJ — said to be the pop star’s personal DJ, whom she sent ahead of her to entertain the crowd as they wait — is playing music while photos of the pop star are being shown on a big screen.
As the wait for Rihanna continued, the DJ hosted an impromptu dance contest, with a pledge that the winner will get to go backstage at her United Center concert tonight.
[From Chicago Tribune]
These poor kids were so excited to see Rihanna, and they were a complete afterthought to her. Why did her team even orchestrate this contest for schools if RiRi wasn’t even going to take it seriously? I understand that no one made any money off this show, but Rihanna should have at least made an effort. Obviously, she didn’t care enough to show up even close to “on time” and couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Lame.
Photos courtesy of WENN
The traffic excuse is BS. Coming from the city (assuming that’s where she was coming from) to Barrington is at most 2 hr, even in bad traffic. If traffic was stopped due to an accident, you can just get off the highway and take a different route.
I used to live in a neighboring town, so yes, it’s highly unlikely she could be four hours late solely because of traffic.
She’s just being a brat.
Even worse, I think she was coming from the airport. So she wasn’t that far so traffic is truly no excuse. She could have probably walked there in less than 4 hours!
Was just going to say this Winnie. Been here for almost 20 years and I think maybe twice I’ve been stuck longer than 2 hours to go a similar distance. If it was midday, it would have been less. She so disrespectful. Those kids worked hard and she couldn’t be bothered to sing? Stay and sign autographs? Take some pics?
Also have to take into account that if it was Spring Break, there would have been even less traffic. Man, she just keeps sinking lower and lower in her personal and professional life.
Okay, so the traffic was bad. Fine. Who expects superstars to show up on time, anyway? But 4 hours?? And then she couldn’t be bothered to make up for it by spending more time there?
Does anyone remember how much worse waiting felt when you were a kid?
Or apologizing? The local coverage made a point of saying she didn’t even bother to do that. It was HER contest (although I somehow doubt it was her idea)…and this is how she follows through?
Inconsiderate and rude doesn’t begin to cover it.
Or apologizing. You’re right.
That’s awful. The only good thing about this is maybe now there’s a few less girls who look up to her.
^This. These girls need to find someone to look up to that isn’t just as sick as her abusive boyfriend. I used to feel bad for her but, no more. She’s made her choices and she’ll have to reap what she sows.
While I would ordinarily agree with the “reaps what she sows” theory (and I AM IN NO WAY DEFENDING HER!!!! *full disclaimer*), I’ve been on the receiving end of abuse.
There are no words. But being abused (or famous, or both) is NOT an excuse to just do whatever the hell you want and not have any level of accountability.
No Ma’am. Not even a little.
@Whatthehell456 – I was going to comment, but you said *exactly* what I was going to say.
@Sarcasmo – I completely agree with you, as usual. =)
I would hope so too! One of my coworkers went to her show here in Montreal and Rihanna was 2 hours late. My coworker – who is almost 6 months pregnant – said to me the next day “yeaaaah, I’m not such a fan any more.”
That’s what these types of “stars” don’t realize – the fans keep them in business, so when they start disrespecting them and pulling this kind of crap, people will go elsewhere.
Lucy2
I went to her concert 2 weeks ago. Her fans are are just the worst, but totally in love with her. Dressed in barely anything, no class, fights broke out in the crowd all night, and I leaving I slipped on a small packet of what I think was coke. Rhi showed up late, was constantly walking off stage for minutes at a time, and I doubt she was singing since her mic was barely held to her mouth. Ticket price-$325, but at least it was free from a friend.
Wow, Alex Banana – that’s quite a story. Sounds like a sh*t concert experience. Glad I’m not a fan. Her 15 minutes are counting down.
Disgusting.
Why is she holding the mic to her vagina in the first pic? Does it sing too?
Yes.
It does her backup vocals.
Just spit coffee everywhere!
Best laugh I’ve had all day!
Omigaw hahahaha
LOL. Why could I believe this with someone like her? (Or Lady Gaga, who’s been so kind as to allow her ‘Lady bits’ to make appearances on red carpets).
That’s inexcusable.
What a bitch. Making little kids wait like that after they worked so hard is ridiculous. She should be ashamed of herself. Freaking lazy and rude.
“Our lives don’t revolve around a pop star” This is exactly what all these douchebag celebs need to realize. Our worlds don’t revolve around them and they need us a hell of a lot more than we need them.
Also love how she was 4 hours late and blamed it on traffic but somehow her DJ was able to get there?
Why even plan on a DJ if you’re planning on being somewhere , especially for just 15 min? Sounds like she never planned on being there anywhere close to “on time”.
Agreed. And bitch was 4 hours late and could only bother to stay for 15 minutes?!?! And you know that 10 minutes of that was her grandstanding and taking pics and shit. So, these kids busted their asses to only have her sing, what, one song?!
I think she only would’ve needed a ‘DJ’ if she didn’t actually plan to sing, just lipsynch (badly) to recordings.
My thoughts exactly. The DJ was there on time. Maybe this lazy trick could have hitched a ride with him. I just can’t with this broad anymore..,
+1000. Damn right. Any empathy I had for her is over. Don’t wish her harm, but just… But that’s it.
Bitch. I am officially not a fan because of this. Never listening to her music again. I’m a high school teacher, and I can just imagine how incredibly disappointing this was for those kids.
Again: BITCH.
Weird. Normally she’s very professional about her obligations and balances her crazy with professionalism.
Yes, she is known for her professionalism and work ethics despite her crazy partying but lately she’s been late to a lot of events. Something must be up.
Did you read about her 777 trip with journalists? She kept them trapped in a plane with little access to food, water, bathrooms, etc.
http://gawker.com/5961959/rihanna-is-keeping-us-from-sleeping-or-eating-or-going-outside-or-using-a-bathroom-an-anonymous-rihanna-plane-captive-speaks-out
(Off the point, but this was my fave quote:
“The shows are hilariously rote. “What the f-ck is up, Mexico City?” “What the f-ck is up, Toronto?” “What the f-ck is up, Paris?” “What the f-ck is up, [Insert Epcot Center City Here]?” followed by a tight sixty minutes of lip synching and lethargic thigh-slapping.”)
Another quote from the story,
“But this was work for a lot of us, and one person was basically responsible for not only regularly keeping us from doing our jobs, but from sleeping or eating or going outside or even using a bathroom.
A frequent complaint on the trip? Some variation of “I want a glass of water so badly, but I guess I should be glad I don’t, because then I’d have to pee.”
I just about died reading the well written story account, but someone in the comments got the laugh from me.
PistachioNut – “Meanwhile, on the Chris Brown plane, everyone is keeping their eyes on the floor and their mouths shut.”
Someone else then replied:
Steven Simmons – “I bet Chris Brown’s plane runs into hers on the way, I mean Rhianna’s runs into a flight of stairs…”
So incredibly wrong that it’s so right. I couldn’t prevent the laugh from audibly escaping.
She is so eloquent – are her fans that brainless and desperate – how can this idiot get so much pr and Esperanza Spalding (real talent and class) is ignored.
@TheOneAndOnly – Sadly, this sort of ‘image’ is glamorized, making the majority of her fans, young teenagers, think this is what it is to be ‘cool’ & ‘popular’. I don’t think this makes them brainless.
Among her teachings by example are that it’s okay to be abused, that it should be forgiven.
Lame is a good word for her. Loser is another. Not worth the time or interest in another. Moving on.
Celebrities seem to think they are excused from whatever rude behavior they have. Tacky is tacky, no matter who you are.
I guess we can all be grateful that she didn’t spend her short time there talking about how Chris Brown is her soul mate or grabbing her crotch and lighting up a blunt.
Some of these superstars become so full of themselves they forget the ones who made them rich and famous; their fans. How dare she be four hours late! I can understand being 20 minutes late but nor four hours.
Hopefully, she will lose fans as a result of this and learn a lesson. If she had even put in an hour, more would’ve been forgiven.
Not even a 1/2 hour >=\ Appalling.
So uncool, she should be ashamed of herself but I guess she doesn’t care at all. That’s how she is.
Loser.
I’m sure she is never late for Difficult Brown
What else would you expect from a pompous ass like her?
Coming from someone who has worked in preschool, can you imagine how difficult it must have been for the teachers to keep a bunch of students “in order” for 4 hours?? On a Friday! I know they’re highschoolers, but come on! This is just so disrespectful and inconsiderate.
Well.
C-U-Next-Tuesday, Rihanna.
Best comment ever.
I know this has been asked before, but– why exactly is she famous? I mean, I know she’s a pop star, but what is the big deal?
Lame.
she’s trash. period
What I’d like to know is, if the traffic was SO AWFUL…how did her DJ manage to get there? I mean, I get that he was “sent ahead” of her, but obviously that means she had no intention of arriving on time…and wouldn’t he have had to travel the same roads to get there? Don’t get me wrong, I grew up by Chicago & know how many different ways there are to get from Point A to Point B when it’s bumper to bumper on the tollway…I’m fully aware she’s full of crap.
Exactly, the DJ arriving early is a pretty big give away that it wasn’t because of traffic.
The thing is, what is she doing performing for kids anyway, it’s not right to expose kids to her oversexed routine.
That was such an azzhole thing to do. No other words to describe it. 4 hour is way too long to keep people waiting, much less children and for a charity event! NO CLASS.
I agree, this is SO lame. What is with her? When did all the pop stars become arrogant assholes?
This piece of trash. She has everything and cannot be bothered to be kind to kids. This kind of stuff is why she deserves to stay with Chris.
She’s “unapologetic”, won’t seek help, can’t be civil, and belittles the less fortunate.
Its so sad to see this once innocent girl on crack. Weed doesn’t make you act like this. Most people that smoke weed are mellow and cool. Rihanna looks possessed. Also she was 2 hours late, not 4.
2 hours based on what source? Various sources say that it was supposed to start at 1pm and she wasn’t there til 5pm.
Someone should have lied and told her the kids had weed, or that Chris Brown was already there. She would have been early as hell.
Perhaps if the kids had weed, Chris Brown would’ve been there… Although most say it mellows you out, so there’s a good chance that isn’t their drug of choice.
Jaki Mora said: “Rihanna is pathetic. She shouldn’t be making us wait for her.”— out of the mouth of babes. Smart kid.
The principapal should have turned this in to a surprise Don’t Do DRUGS assembly. Held up a picture of Riri and said “beware…..you don’t want to turn into this….”I guarantee those kids don’t look up to this cheap b***tch anymore
i really can’t wait to see this loser try and stand up after something really
Trash is, as trash does.
This is someone the public has glorified – deserving?
By this stage of the game, the ego is beyond huge…and has far surpassed the brain power.
I’m totally with the 7th grader who is quoted as saying “Rihanna is pathetic.”
Hopefully that is the lesson learned by everyone now.
Am having difficulty understanding why anyone would wait more than an hour for her in the first place, let alone over 4 and a half hours….
Using traffic as an excuse is just one more way that Rihanna shows that she does not take responsibility for her actions and is not worthy of adulation.
ps. The appearance was in Barrington, IL, which is 40 miles away from Chicago.
Trash.
WHY DOES SHE STILL HAVE A CAREER?
Way to go RiRi… asshole!
My highschool won a contest to have Our Lady Peace come give a show and they ended up cancelling it because they suddenly had hit a wave of popularity, this was the 90’s, and they sent us some lame apology letter that’s it.
And now they’re playing for free on street corners and no one even knows about these ‘gigs’ because Metric’s around the corner playing the ACC. Stay Humble, Nosepokers.
In Rihanna’s defense, she has absolutely no respect for herself, so why would anyone expect her to behave respectfully toward others?
This could turn out to be a huge life lesson for those high school girls. Hopefully most of them will pay attention and realize that Rihanna is not worth emulating or supporting in any way.
Heh, After watching the ‘Star Trek‘ trailer in another post today, hearing Spock say this, I can’t help but give this response:
“I’m not sure that qualifies as“…A successful defense. xD
It would have been great if, by the time she finally showed up, everyone had left. THAT would have been priceless. I know I would have left before the 2nd hour. Screw that.
She would’ve preferred it that way, so she didn’t have to engage in the physically taxing act of lip-syncing & microphone/crotch interaction that’s become a regular part of her so-called ‘performances’. (for 15 minutes! How can these slave-drivers live w/themselves, scheduling & expecting her to do that?!)
I bet they even expected *her* to apologize too, to ‘save (currently unfortunate-looking) face’ & pretend she gives a damn.
But Girl knows when to put her foot down.
It is inexcusable! Everyone should have left. I wouldn’t walk across the street to see her! It is so insulting to those kids!!
How did they keep those kids waiting like that, for so long? I used to be a school nurse, and it took every staff member on campus to keep the middle school contained in the gym for a 30 minute presentation. Also: she is not a good role model for kids.
I’ve noticed (and wonder if anyone else has?) that this being late for appearances and postponing appearances trend started within a day or two of the release of Chris Brown’s “tell her that’s your pussy” rant becoming public. Maybe she’s bottoming out and maybe it will be for the best in the long run if it brings her to move on from him.
Whoops, just read the link posted by Tiffany from Gawker about the 777 tour, and yeah, apparently she’s been pulling this late crap for a while now.
I actually live in Barrington…several blocks away from the high school. The local news was really excited about this contest/story. Too bad she is such a loser. Traffic is a non-issue…she lie.
It really bothers me when I hear about stuff like this because the public, the fans pay for her shit. For her costumes. Her S&M gear. Her weed. Her food. Her water. Everything.
But it’s even worse when it’s kids, especially kids who worked hard for this. When you’re a teenager, a concert can mean everything to you. Especially when you’ve worked to get it.
Shame on you, Rihanna.
Off the point altogether, but things like kids wanting to see Rihanna in concert or join the Boy Scouts would so present moral dilemmas for me if I were a mother–what do you do, impose your own convictions on your kid, possibly denying them something that they don’t think deeply enough about for it to have a lasting bad effect on them? In other words, to them, Rihanna is just a singer, not the epitome of battered womanhood and the Boy Scouts is just a camping group, not a homophobic organization. What does one do as a parent?
In an ideal world, kids would be raised to make these distinctions and would be smart enough to understand them, but as a former child, I know better.
Yes, I’m rambling, and I’m off to bed now to sleep it off. LOL.
All I can say is that at least these kids can be *proud*, knowing what they did to help people in need actually matters, more than all her concert prices altogether.