Pop icon Rihanna has been accused of mocking a Hindu god after she was pictured topless with a pendant of Ganesha around her neck, sparking a furore in India.
Images of the lingerie photoshoot come just weeks after she upset the Indian government by commenting on huge farmers’ protests that pose a major challenge to New Delhi.
The latest offending tweet to the superstar’s more than 100 million Twitter followers is part of promotions for Rihanna’s lingerie line Savage X Fenty.
Read more: Indian trolls share picture of Zulfikar Bukhari and Rihanna on Twitter
The photo was also shared on her Instagram account, which has 91.4 million followers.
Social media users and politicians in India on Wednesday said her post was “derogatory”, accusing her of disrespecting Hindu gods and hurting local sentiment.
“It’s appalling to see how @Rihanna shamefully mocks our beloved Hindu God #Ganesha,” tweeted Ram Kadam, a state legislator from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist party.
It's appalling to see how @Rihanna shamefully mocks our beloved Hindu God #Ganesha. This exposes how #Rihanna has no idea or respect for Indian culture, tradition and our issues here. Hopefully, at least now @RahulGandhi and other Congress leaders will stop taking help from her https://t.co/7zUpnO05GL
— Ram Kadam (@ramkadam) February 16, 2021
“This exposes how #Rihanna has no idea or respect for Indian culture, tradition and our issues here,” he added.
The right-wing World Hindu Council said it had filed police complaints against Facebook and Twitter for hosting the picture and demanded action against Rihanna’s social media accounts.
Earlier this month tweets from Rihanna and other celebrities on protests in India by farmers against new agriculture laws sparked anger at India’s foreign ministry, which called their comments “sensationalist”.
Read more: Rihanna’s reaction to India’s farmers’ protest sparks international outrage
Critics say Hindu nationalism has been on the rise in officially secular India under Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
Rihanna under fire for disrespecting Islam
Pop singer Rihanna came under social media fire on last year for hurting the sentiments of Muslims around the world by playing a song that had a saying of a holy figure in it during her Savage X Fenty fashion show on October 2.
According to videos of the event shared on social media, there was a point in the singer’s show when Rico Nasty was introduced while the track ‘Doom’ played in the background. The song is produced by London-based producer, Coucou Chloe. Chloe had remixed the track with a saying from a holy figure of Islam.
AFP with additional input by GVS News Desk