Tyla has detailed an ‘awkward’ interaction with Rihanna after a clip of them interacting at the Met Gala went viral.
Following the fashion event – held in New York on Monday night – a clip was shared online showing the Barbadian singer, 38, with her back towards the South African singer, 24, as she stood up against a curtain.
Although some speculated Rihanna was snubbing Tyla, she’s now shared an insight into what actually happened – but explaining they’d previously had an uncomfortable encounter.
Posting on TikTok, the seemingly drowsy singer initially described a meeting between them a year ago, in which Rihanna greeted her and immediately walked off.
‘I met her last year, and she was cool. You know, I met her, but I think she was occupied cause she was like, I was like, I went up to her. I was like, “oh, hey”, you know, she was like, “hey, um, um, my baby daddy’s calling me”. And then she left, and I was like, “Oh, maybe she was busy”,’ she recalled.
Tyla then said their interaction made her feeling ‘awkward’. ‘I don’t know how to say hi if I feel like someone’s busy,’ she added.
Addressing the Met Gala clip, Tyla said she decided not to approach Rihanna after their previous meeting.
‘I don’t wanna go up because I felt like she was busy. You know what I mean? And the last time she was busy,’ she said.
‘When we do speak, if we do end up speaking ever, I want us to be like calm so we both can just, you know, vibe and talk nicely.’
Tyla gained international recognition after the release of her 2023 single Water, which entered the top ten in multiple countries including her native South Africa, the UK and the US.
Despite attempting to clear up what happened, she’s copped from flak from people questioning why she decided to post the video.
‘What’s the point of this video?’ user lemon commented.
‘Why would you post this?’ iyaserewhitney questioned.
‘I find this video so annoying , she didn’t have to explain herself?’ star shared.
‘Why did the world need to know this?’ ae added.
However, others defended her, with one saying she’d posted the video to ‘clear the silly narrative that Rihanna was rude for ignoring her’.
The spotlight on Rihanna comes after she and partner A$AP Rocky were captured in a tense moment at the event too.
One video shared online showed Rihanna looking annoyed as her partner chatted to Swarovski’s global creative director Giovanna Engelbert behind her on the carpet.
Speaking to waiting media, Rihanna was asked she was going, to which she replied ‘yes, and how are you’. Although she was politely replying it was clear she didn’t want to chat and was waiting for her partner, who then approached and hugged the man filming, asking how he was, posing for a photo and having a quick chat before they moved on.
However, when leaving the event, cameras then also captured the pair appearing to be arguing, with Rihanna seen with an annoyed expression on her face while speaking to her partner, whose eyebrows were raised while replying to her.
While they couldn’t be heard, A$AP turned his head from his partner at one point and avoided eye contact as she continued staring him down.
However, a source later told TMZ the couple were just ‘totally drained’ from a huge day.
‘It was a long day, and they were running on empty,’ one source told the outlet, which also claimed that ‘they’re happy, and people are simply overanalysing a tired moment’.
After the clip was shared online, many rushed to defend the couple and issue reminders that arguments between couples are not out of the ordinary.
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