Snap Declines Amid Uproar Over Rihanna Domestic Violence Ad
Rihanna says Snap let down victims of domestic violence.
(Bloomberg) -- Pop singer Rihanna criticized Snap Inc. for running an ad that asked users to decide whether they wanted to slap her or punch Chris Brown, saying it made a joke of her history as a victim of domestic violence.
Snapchat removed the ad, which was for a mobile game called Would You Rather, and apologized, saying it was a mistake. After Rihanna’s comments, the Los Angeles-based company responded further, calling the promotion “disgusting.” Snap stock fell almost 5 percent.
“Now Snapchat I know you already know you ain’t my fav app out there,” Rihanna wrote Thursday in an Instagram story, “but I’m just trying to figure out what the point was with this mess! I’d love to call it ignorance, but I know you ain’t that dumb!"
She said Snap let down victims of domestic violence, which she experienced while dating Brown in 2009. “Shame on you,” she wrote.
Snap shares slid 4.5 percent to $17.05 at 1:46 p.m. in New York. Rihanna’s note was the latest round of celebrity criticism of Snapchat, an app that lets people send photos and messages that disappear. Reality-TV star Kylie Jenner earlier this year criticized a redesign of the app.
The ad "never should have appeared on our service,” Snap said. “We are so sorry we made the terrible mistake of allowing it through our review process. We are investigating how that happened so that we can make sure it never happens again.”
Snap blocked the advertiser from its platform. The company’s policies prohibit “shocking, sensational or disrespectful” content in ads.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Frier in San Francisco at sfrier1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz
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