Rihanna Beaten Up Again (by NFL and... Debbie Harry?)

Rihanna-amazing-photos

“Singer” Rihanna is having a crap week:

There’s more fallout from the Ray Rice domestic violence incident and the turmoil it has caused for the NFL – CBS and Rihanna are splitting up.

The network said Tuesday it was permanently editing a song featuring Rihanna’s voice out of its Thursday night NFL telecasts – after the singer issued a profane Tweet about it.

CBS issued a statement saying that it was “moving in a different direction” with different theme music.

The song was one of a handful of elements CBS cut out of its inaugural Thursday night football telecast. At the time, CBS Sports president Sean McManus said Rihanna’s own history as a victim of domestic violence was one part of the decision but not the overriding one.

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Had the NFL kept the song in rotation, they’d have been torn apart on Twitter and elsewhere for “bad optics.”

(There’s a “broken occipital bone” joke in there somewhere…)

The league is currently in full hair-shirting mode, pantomiming “outrage” and “concern.”

It doesn’t need another black eye these days.

But of course, some will now scream that the NFL is “punishing the victim” by “silencing a battered woman’s voice” or something. (See below.)

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Meanwhile, actual singer Debbie Harry of Blondie dissed Rihanna in a spiel that put down divas while promoting the D.I.Y. spirit of the punk world Harry was formed in.

But the slap was so subtle, I don’t think many people felt it, let alone Rihanna herself.

At least, I haven’t detected any faux “outrage” directed at Harry from the usual concern trolls.

“You’re talking about a totally different level of being part of the industry,” Debbie explained to British newspaper Metro about how she handles gigs compared to contemporary stars. “I don’t travel with six bodyguards. I don’t have an assistant. I don’t have hair and make-up people. We’re a do-it-yourself operation. We’re very home-grown and very tight. It’s totally different.

“I don’t have a bunch of side men and a music director someone has hired and teaches them the songs, and then five hours later I walk on stage and sing them. It’s a totally different thing.”

Comparing her entourage to Rihanna’s, Debbie revealed she actually prefers to handle her own luggage over someone else being responsible for it.

“[Rihanna’s] a stumbler, she falls a lot.”

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Ha! Get it? “It’s nothing — I just walked into a door” and all that.

To the best of my knowledge, nobody ever beat up Debbie Harry, and if they had, I don’t think she’d get back together with the guy and get a tattoo commemorating the crime.

Anyhow, I guess all this means that the Black Eyed Peas won’t be playing the Super Bowl half-time show again for the near future.

And thank God for that, huh?

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