Rihanna Wipes A Billion Dollars Off Shapchat's Share Value

R&B superstar Rihanna has reacted angrily to an advertisement that was posted on Snapchat.

The ad, for a game, made a sly reference to the fact that Chris Brown was convicted in 2009 for an assault on Rihanna when it asked users if they would rather "slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown".

Rihanna posted a lengthy statement on her Instagram story account in response to the Snapchat ad, using the acronym DV for domestic violence.
"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! 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!! 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!"

Snapchat apologised to Rihanna and removed the ad.

"The ad 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 the Barbados-born singer wasn’t having any of it.
"Shame on you,” she said. "Throw the whole app-oligy away."

As a result, the value of Snapchat’s parent company Snap Inc was reduced by almost $1billion.

And there were critical reactions on social media too, with Chelsea Clinton commenting: “Awful that any company would approve this."