*Snapchat stocks dropped by nearly 5% on Thursday after Rihanna slammed the app for its ad making light of domestic violence.
The ad, which referenced her 2009 beating by Chris Brown in asking users if they’d rather “slap Rihanna” or “punch Chris Brown,” drew immediate backlash on social media, with folks like Chelsea Clinton coming forward to question the company’s judgment.
Snapchat deleted the ad on Tuesday and issued an apology, stating: “The advert was reviewed and approved in error, as it violates our advertising guidelines. We immediately removed the ad last weekend, once we became aware. We are sorry that this happened.”
But Rihanna wasn’t having it. On Thursday morning, she took to Instagram with her thoughts.
“Now SNAPCHAT I know you already know you ain’t my fav app out there! But I’m just trying to figure out what the point was with this mess!” she said. “I’d love to call it ignorance but I know you ain’t that dumb. You spent money to animate something that would intentionally bring shame to DV victims and made a joke of it!!!”
She added, “This isn’t about my personal feelings, cause I don’t have much of them… but all the women, children, and men that have been victims of DV in the past and especially the ones who haven’t made it out yet… you let us down! Shame on you. Throw the whole app-oligy away.”
If she tells me to delete snapchat I’ll do it @rihanna pic.twitter.com/yUW1UOzNc2
— Nicollette Williams (@nicollettemw) March 15, 2018
As the controversy gathered steam on Thursday, Snap’s stock tanked as much as 5% after Rihanna called out the company. The shares ended the day at $17.20, down 3.6%.
This marks the second time in recent weeks that a celebrity’s criticism has cased Snap’s stock to plunge. Last month, Kylie Jenner tweeted her gripes with Snapchat’s new redesign, and its stock dipped as much as 8%.
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