Rihanna was the star of the Super Bowl LVII as she stole the show with her electrifying performance at the Halftime Show, following which she announced that she is pregnant for the second time. However, several of her fans who closely watched her have been talking about the black waist buckle on her otherwise all-flaming-red jumpsuit.
Since then, a photo is being circulated on social media claiming that the buckle was in the shape of a "satanic" five-pointed star, also known as a pentagram. Social media users have since been questioning if Rihanna has been worshipping Satan given that the pentagram-shaped symbol is a sign of Satan. However, the claim isn't true as the buckle had a different shape.
Confusing Black Buckle
Rihanna was seen wearing a black waist buckle on her otherwise all-flaming red jumpsuit as she performed at the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show. Although it is a bit difficult, some of the eagle-eyed fans claimed to have observed the black buckle minutely and claimed that it was in the shape of a "satanic" five-pointed star or pentagon.
Soon the claim appeared in the form of a post on Twitter. The post by far-right conspiracy theorist Stew Peters carried a photograph of Rihanna in all-red attire with a caption that read: How will the masses know we're worshiping satan?
The post soon garnered close to one million views.
Many started raising doubts that Rihanna may be a worshipper of Satan. Others asked if the Barbadian pop icon chose the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show as the platform to send a message that she is a worshipper of Satan.
However, the claim ended up being false and baseless as Rihanna's black buckle wasn't in the shape of a "satanic" five-pointed star.
In fact, several social media users immediately pointed out that what some were mistaking for a pentagram—which is a five-pointed star by definition—actually looked more like a six-pointed star (also known as a Star of David).
However, call it a trick of lighting, angle, or motion, higher-quality images showed that the supposed "sign" was actually a waist buckle.
Rihanna Not a Satanist
The blurry image in this post where the claim was made was grabbed from this Getty Images website by Mike Coppola on February 12, 2023, during the halftime show. A separate photograph from a different angle and a closer look at the supposed sign appears to show a belt buckle clasp with no discernible shape or symbolism.
Some Super Bowl viewers seemed eager to call out what they saw as a trend in "satanic ritualism" in mass entertainment, which was likely fueled by the outrage over what U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and others called a "demonic" performance by Sam Smith at the Grammy Awards ceremony one week earlier.
However, Super Bowl Halftime Shows have previously seen what may be aptly described as "satanic panic". In 2017, Lady Gaga's halftime performance took the same approach. Viral social media posts from 2021 incorrectly stated that during the Weekend's performance, the word "Satan" flashed on a backdrop.
However, there's no truth in the claim. In fact, Rihanna's all-red performance outfit served as a tribute to her late friend Andre Leon Talley, a fashion writer who was famously captured wearing a huge red puffer coat. The claim is thus completely false and baseless.
