Marketwatch reports that Snapchat’s stocks have taken a nosedive in the wake of a backlash after the app hosted a controversial ad that asked users to choose between “punching” or “slapping” animated avatars of Chris Brown and Rihanna. Rihanna herself responded to the ad with an angry post to Instagram’s rival Stories feature, and according to Marketwatch within hours, Snapchat’s stock had plummeted.
Snap’s shares closed the trading day down almost 4% at $17.20 today after dipping to as low as $16.91 after Rihanna’s callout. The company had apologized for the ad just yesterday, but Rihanna’s Instagram post made it clear she wasn’t accepting it. After her rejection went viral on other platforms including Instagram and Twitter, her “Navy” fans declared Snapchat D.O.A. with posts like the ones below:
https://twitter.com/Ioveonthebrain/status/974307908514172930
I do not know if you really wanna piss off Rihanna. Girl has power. She revived Puma. She revolutionized makeup. And if she going to tell us to delete an app…. people will listen. Snapchat is going through some dark times. pic.twitter.com/9SSfuHLpIw
— Amber 💫🐍 (@AltheyuhMoves) March 15, 2018
Rihanna said Delete Snapchat. So guess what app I just deleted? pic.twitter.com/tjTec3aRMN
— stas (@yourgirlayedub) March 15, 2018
To make matters worse for the beleaguered Snapchat, Slate reports that although the company does utilize “self-serve” ads on the app similar to the ones used by Google and Facebook, some of those ads are periodically reviewed by an actual human — and this ad did go through human review. Unfortunately, that means that while tremendous strides have been made in protecting the rights of women and victims of domestic violence, far too many people still see nothing wrong with making jokes at the expense of survivors orsupporting artists and entertainers who victimize women.
