Rihanna was playing a concert in Lille, France on Saturday when she told the crowd to pay attention and get off their phones, essentially. A fan posted a video on Twitter (which has since been deleted) in which Rihanna is heard saying “I don’t want to see you texting your boyfriends or girlfriends. I don’t want to see you catching any Pokémons up in this bitch.”
You may think that’s farfetched because who would play Pokemon Go at a concert they spent good money for? Someone would. An Instagram user who had incredible stageside tickets to Beyonce in Paris last week posted a video of a woman playing Pokemon Go instead of watching the show. Beyonce was performing just a few feet away. Right after that Beyonce walked by the crowd and touched a bunch of people, including the fan who was filming the video and screaming wildly. He wrote that he’s “never showering again” and also that the woman playing Pokemon Go was “lucky Solange never saw her.” Here’s that video:
This just helps confirm my decision not to download Pokemon Go. I see friends on Facebook posting their levels and the Pokemon (you don’t pluralize that like Rihanna did) they catch and it looks highly addictive. It’s so addictive people don’t care about seeing Beyonce or Bieber or Rihanna or whomever. Also, do you think Rihanna knew about the woman playing Pokemon Go at the Beyonce concert before she said that? I don’t think so given that the video was posted to Instagram right around then, but it’s possible.
In related Rihanna news, she’s been cast on the upcoming fifth and final season of Bates Motel as the Janet Leigh character, Marion Crane. (If you’re not watching Bates Motel you can catch up to the first three seasons on Netflix. It’s so worth it. This last fourth season is not yet available unless you buy it.) Normally I side eye it when a celebrity is cast on a TV show I love, but I think Rihanna is going to be incredible. (Also, I’m disappointed that Bates Motel was so thoroughly overlooked at the Emmys this year. Maybe next year it will finally get some recognition.)
You may have seen this photo and illustration last year of Rihanna dressed like a Pokemon Gym Leader, whatever that is. Apparently it’s not a real Pokemon character though and someone just saw Rihanna in that cute outfit and drew a picture of her wearing it with some Pokemon. She really does dress like a cartoon character.
When @rihanna be looking like a @Pokemon Gym Leader. pic.twitter.com/gxiKoQ7eyJ
— D-Piddy (@_dpiddy) September 8, 2015
photos credit: WENN and FameFlynet
“Normally I side eye it when a celebrity is cast on a TV show I love, but I think Rihanna is going to be incredible.”
Can she act?
I’ve only ever seen her in the Battleship movie (don’t judge me), and well… it’s a crappy movie. Can I judge her acting skills by one role in a crappy movie? As I recall though, she worked really hard.
Big shoes to fill…Janet Leigh….
Rihanna loves Bates Hotel and they heard about it and that’s how she got cast. Can’t even imagine how she will be as Marion, but I can’t wait to find out. Yes, Vera and Freddie were blatantly robbed at the Emmys, but we stans know how fabulous they both were. The last season is going to be epic.
I was at a Flight of the Conchords concert in Boston this weekend. The people sitting on either side of my husband and I were playing Pokemon Go during the concert. Not surprised by this at all! My 40-something age is coming through, as I don’t understand why someone would pay $50+ on an event and then stare at their phone’s screen…
For some people a concert is a big deal, for others it’s just what they do on a Friday or Saturday night. I’ve been to a lot of concerts I wasn’t particularly interested in, sometimes because friends were going, sometimes because I got free tickets, sometimes because better plans fell through and I needed to kill some time. There’s 2 major concert venues within walking distance of my place, and last minute tickets can cost less than a movie ticket.
The girl is in the beyhive pit, those tickets cost 850 euros and are quickly sold out.
Sure, but a Beyonce concert??? You don’t have to be part of the beyhive to appreciate her awesomeness as a performer.
I was at Peter Gabriel & Sting this past weekend. Naturally, the crowd skewed muuuuch older.
At one point, I looked around and was AMAZED that out of the 15,000 or so people there, I could only see a handful of people taking the occasional cell phone shot. It was soooooooo nice… nearly every single person was actually PRESENT in the moment, watching the events on stage and not looking through the screen of a phone!
I am SO JEALOUS.
I want to see FoTC so bad – I could see playing around with the game while waiting for the show to start, but man. I’d be paying attention to Bret and Jemaine, no question.
I just saw FoTC a few weeks ago at Red Rocks. It was so refreshing and fun! Everyone was quiet (except for laughing), sitting down, and not on their phones but really paying attention. Jermaine and Bret are hilarious and really took their time with jokes, stage banter, and the songs so overall it was a really relaxing experience. At the end they also threw in “Don’t vote for Trump” “Stop being racist” and “How about this, maybe the police shouldn’t shoot people and people shouldn’t shoot the police. At least that’s how it’s done in our country anyway”, which was probably my favorite part of the show. I’m definitely seeing them again next time they are in town.
Pokemon Go is super addictive. I started playing on the 12th and am already level 21.
Send help…
Nice! My sister, my niece and I have gone out playing the past 2 weekends. I don’t really play that much during the week. there isn’t much in my town and it’s been so hot out. I just don’t feel like it after work, but on Saturdays I can go spend a few hours out in the 100 degree heat and catch some Pokemon!
Yeah it is. It’s all I can do not to play all the time!
I took the bait as well. I’ve been playing all over where I live in NY. I also played on a very recent vacation to South Beach. I actually ran out of the hotel in my nightgown to catch a few. I actually had to stop when our ship set sail for The Bahamas, you know, due to those roaming charges. But as soon as I got to Miami airport it was on again.
My son is super into this. I like to think I’m a hip mom, but he’s been all over this all summer. In Portland, a few weeks ago they held a huge pokemon go event.
Honestly, that’s just rude. She has every right to call them out on it. And I’m trying to imagine Rihanna standing next to sweet, little (not so much anymore, lol) Charlie Bucket. In all seriousness, though, I’m really happy for Freddie and all he has achieved.
I’m still overwhelmed by this Beyoncé concert in Paris. It was great! I wish i could afford a ticket in the beyhive pit.
Phones in concert venues are getting really annoying. At least that pokemon girl wasn’t shoving it in other people faces.
I love Rihanna’s dress with the yellow bag.
I just caught Jigglypuff…
Is it bad or gauche or embarrassing to say Pokemons (plural) then?
If so, this is my new tactic for annoying Sixlet Minor.
What else about it can I get wrong accidentally on purpose? This could have some mileage chez Sixer!
@Sixers she’s an island girl. It’s just the culture in my experience that she does the plural thing. My father is as Island as they come and adds the extra ‘s’ all the time. I don’t think it is considered gauche but maybe it is acceptable in some circles and cultures over others
No, no! Wasn’t in the least denigrating Rihanna, or questioning patois or some other speech pattern creeping in.
It was just in the article and I wondered if it was the Pokemon Go equivalent of dad dancing or something like that. It’s a game/niggle thing I do with my kids, is all. Say the embarrassing mum thing loudly and a lot, even though they know that I know it’s the embarrassing know-nothing mum thing. It gets on their nerves no end.
I’ll never get to heaven. Just as well I’m not a believer!
My first instinct is to dismiss this addiction by saying that everyone has lost their minds. But there seems to be a real need to escape these days. I get that, things are tough, but how do you lose control to the point where you’re an adult who is driving dangerously, shunning responsibilities and staring at your phone while your child is talking to you? I’ve never even looked at any game I know to be addictive to the masses. Never downloaded Candy Crush. To quote the movie War Games, ‘The only winning move is not to play” !
I think for the most part – the people that are doing dumb stuff while playing are the same people who were doing dumb stuff in day to day life. It baffles me how some people are just so… dumb.
I play it as of last week… it’s fun. But I also don’t have a data plan, so I just play at wifi hotspots, or at home. I grew up LOVING the pokemon gameboy games, so this is a bit of nostalgic fun for me. If I’m waiting around, killing time, I’ll flip the app on. I don’t play any of those candy crush, or whatever games. Honestly, I didn’t even really plan on playing this one. But it’s well done- and it’s something pretty creative, so I give it a go.
Sorry, I’m an adult. Pokémon is for children.
Then I will continue to enjoy my second childhood. Sorry you’re missing out.
(Seriously though, just because it’s not your thing doesn’t mean you have to try to put those who do enjoy it down.)
I don’t get it either, but if someone wants to pay money to go to a concert then spend their time playing a game or taking selfies or doing whatever else then let them. It’s not my money. As long as they aren’t disrupting others around them, who cares.