Rihanna says upcoming Savage x Fenty fashion show is ‘obnoxious’ amid backlash over Johnny Depp cameo

Rihanna has revealed that she is “looking forward” to fans seeing her upcoming Savage x Fenty Vol 4 fashion show amid backlash over her decision to starJohnny Depp in a cameo.

The singer, 34, whose latest show will premiere on Prime Video on 9 November, reflected on the work she has put into the fourth installment in a new interview with People, where she revealed that it’s the “first real thing [she’s] done” since she gave birth to her and boyfriend A$AP Rocky’s son in May.

“I’m looking forward to [people seeing] it. It’s my first real thing that I’ve done since I had the baby, work-wise,” Rihanna said.

According to the billionaire fashion designer, she is just as excited for the  upcoming show as previous years because she loves seeing the “new bodies, new silhouettes, new personalities, new characters, new energies”.

“I love seeing new bodies, new silhouettes, new personalities, new characters, new energies,” she said. “I just enjoy seeing people celebrate their body, celebrate who they are - and they just happen to be wearing Savage. That’s exciting.”

Rihanna also claimed that the upcoming fashion exhibition, which will star celebrities such as Bella Poarch, Cara Delevingne, Irina Shayk, Joan Small, and Lilly Singh, as well as Depp, “takes the cake” in comparison to past shows.

“This show is obnoxious,” the Fenty Beauty founder said. “This one takes the cake. This is gonna be the show to beat. It is on a scale unlike anything we’ve ever done. It’s huge.”

As for what fans can expect from the show, which was filmed in Los Angeles in October, Rihanna told the outlet that she appears in a “Mother Nature section” and that “we’re literally in the middle of nature”.

“We lit up the mountains and forests - and we even hired snake wranglers. In the end, it is going to be so beautiful when you see it,” she said.

She did not address the backlash over Depp’s involvement in the show, which has sparked calls for boycotts of her Savage x Fenty brand and her cosmetics brand.

Depp, dressed in an olive green outfit from Savage x Fenty’s men’s collection, will appear in a “star” moment during the 9 November fashion show, but will not walk the runway.

The criticism over the “problematic” casting stems largely from Depp’s high-profile legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard over a 2018 op-ed written by the Aquaman star. The case concluded earlier this year when a jury ruled that Heard had defamed Depp in the op-ed. Heard was ordered to pay Depp $10m (£8m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£4m) in punitive damages. The jury also awarded Heard $2m (£1.6m) in her counterclaim that she was defamed by one of Depp’s lawyers.

“Rihanna can’t be serious? With all these beautiful and unproblematic men in Hollywood, and Johnny Depp is the one that appeals to you the most?” one person wrote.

Others expressed their hope that the singer would remove Depp’s cameo from the pre-recorded lingerie show following the backlash.

“I don’t think Rihanna cares about backlash but I hope it’s strong enough that her team will be like.. woah maybe this isn’t a good idea,” one person tweeted on Thursday.

Rihanna’s comments also come after she told the AP in an interview published on 7 November, but conducted before Depp’s cameo in the show came to light, that she had worked hard to outdo last year’s Emmy-winning Savage x Fenty Show Vol 3 show.

“It’s always challenging to beat the one before,” she said. “Next year is going to actually be the main challenge because this year was such a huge scale of a show and I don’t know how we’re going to beat it, but we’re going to have to try.”

The Independent has contacted a representative for Rihanna for comment.