Rihanna is a genius. Here’s the deal: as promotion for her new album, Unapologetic (due out tomorrow), the pop star invited “150 journalists representing 82 countries” onto her private Boeing 777 twinjet for seven shows in seven days in seven countries. Hence, the “777 Tour.” Rolling Stone, MTV, Fuse News, Pop Dust were brought along (we’ll assume our invitation was lost in the mail), and the writers and photographers were given free champagne and gratuitous accommodations in Mexico City, Toronto, Stockholm, and Paris so far.
Sounds amazing, right? Not according to some of the embedded reporters, who are not very happy.
According to The Independent:
But despite the gruelling travel schedule the “Psycho” singer has reportedly refused any interviews, leaving hacks chanting “Just one quote, just one quote” and culminating in a “revolt”, as she hid from attention in a special “panic room” on board.
Frustration reached such a pitch this weekend that an Australian journalist (believed to be from Melbourne’s Fox FM) streaked through the plane completely naked as the crowd chanted “I need a headline” and “Just one quote!”
Conditions are reportedly uncomfortable as the unhappy retinue is dragged from one late-night after show to the next, with wake up calls for the following day’s travel arrangements arriving just a couple of hours after the star rocks up at her after show parties. (Via)
And the tweets:
The “I need a headline” quote is ironic because the journalists are the headlines, and Rihanna ends up looking like the good guy. The “777 Tour” is a marketing plot, one in which the press was brought along on a worldwide tour for free. That’s the first part of Rihanna’s brilliance. The second: in the public eye, it’s the writers who are the unsympathetic ones, with their cries of mutiny and revolt. Before the tour began, it had been billed and tweeted as FREE EVERYTHING, and once the word “free” is mentioned, it’s like you’re not allowed to complain. “Oh, well, you haven’t slept in 24 hours? FREE TRIP. Oh, hm, you haven’t gotten an interview with Rihanna? FREE TRIP,” etc. After so many months of negative press, largely courtesy of the “reuniting with Chris Brown” ordeal, Rihanna has strategically diverted the attention away from her and onto those who she thinks criticized her.
That’s one way of reading the situation, at least. I chose to think it’s some grand ILLUMINATI experiment to see which country would strip first. The winner: Australia.
One of the two.
