A$AP Rocky and Rihanna pose for a picture on February 11, 2022 in Los Angeles, California ( GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Mike Coppola)

Photos do not show Rihanna holding her child

This article is more than one year old.
Published on March 30, 2022 at 19:57
Updated on March 30, 2022 at 20:22
1 min read
By Claire SAVAGE, AFP USA

Facebook posts circulating in March 2022 claim that images show Barbadian singer and businesswoman Rihanna holding her newborn baby. But the photos are from June 2014 and depict the star with her niece, Majesty, not her own child.

"PHOTO OF RIHANNA'S CHILD," says a March 27, 2022 Facebook post featuring two images of the singer with a baby.

Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on March 30, 2022

More examples of the claim appeared on Facebook here and here.

The "Umbrella" singer is the richest woman in music and owns cosmetics company Fenty Beauty. She announced in February 2022 that she was expecting her first child with rapper A$AP Rocky.

A reverse image search for one of the photos circulating on social media led to this June 15, 2014 post on Rihanna's verified Facebook page. "Majesty x Aunty OhNaNa," the caption says, referring to a refrain in her hit song "What's My Name."

Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on March 30, 2022

Another search led to this photo of Rihanna and Majesty, which was posted on her page the same day.

Majesty, now seven, is the daughter of Rihanna's cousin, Noella Alstrom, but the singer refers to her as her niece.

At the time of publication, Rihanna had made no public announcement about her baby's arrival.

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