I spent a better part of the last weekend seeing Rihanna taking over our collective social media feeds. RiRi was in Mumbai for a Fenty Beauty launch event that saw some of the top Indian influencers waiting for hours. (She showed up at 3:00 am, according to an influencer, and that’s a whole other story!)
My absolute favourite piece of content from all of the beauty influencers was a reel by Aryana Dalal (around 29,000 Instagram followers) who, without any inhibition, asked Rihanna what perfume she was wearing that evening. “This is an honour,” Dalal told her when it was her turn to get a few seconds with the pop icon. Dalal had to repeat the word “honour” thrice as Rihanna could not quite catch what she was saying. “You’re so stunning and you smell amazing,” Dalal told her. I’ve to admit, it was oddly endearing to see Rihanna giggling, covering her mouth with her hand, when she received the compliment. “What perfume do you wear? Dalal asked her. “J’adore,” said Rihanna, referring to Dior’s fragrance, for which she is the face. “A little mix, a little spritz,” she further revealed. I wasn’t surprised to see the adorable video of the candid starstruck moment racking up over 15 million views. Watch the wholesome video here. And yes, who else but the Ambani ladies hosting her at Antilia. We saw pictures and videos of Isha Ambani and the Ambani bahus, Shloka Mehta and Radhika Merchant, welcoming Rihanna and even performing an aarti with her.
Influencer of the week: NejmOne content creator who was in the spotlight with this Rihanna event is Nejm. Deborrah Samantha Johnson, who gave herself the name Nejm (’real’ in Tamil) as a teenager, is a model and rapper from Tamil Nadu.
She has close to 700,000 followers on Instagram and posted three reels with Rihanna from the Fenty event. Nejm managed to give Rihanna a quick Bharatanatyam lesson, with the global icon trying a few mudras from the classical Indian dance form. Read more about Nejm here. Sridhar Vembu called ‘delulu’ over his call to NRIsWhile Rihanna brought the glitz and glam on Instagram, over on X, Sridhar Vembu had his moment for this week. The Zoho billionaire dominated timelines with his call for NRIs in the US to return to India. In his “open letter to Indians in America”, Vembu urged Indians in the US to contribute to India’s technological growth.
Vembu’s viral post (over 6.8 million views) triggered intense reactions across the spectrum. Former BharatPe boss-turned-influencer Ashneer Grover took a sharp dig at Vembu, calling him “delulu” ( Gen Z slang for delusional). “Record-breaking heat in India is clearly making people dizzy. Just DON’T — be scientific in your approach. Look at numbers — $1 = ₹94. Temperature = 50C,” Grover said. Prachi Nigam’s quiet comebackBefore we wrap up, here’s a heartwarming story.
Remember Prachi Nigam? The teenager from Uttar Pradesh who faced the internet’s ugly side two years ago just because she had facial hair. Nigam, who topped the UP Board’s Class 10 exam in 2024, was subjected to vicious body-shaming online after her photos went viral. Two years later, she scored an impressive 91.20% in her Class 12 board exams. You can read about Prachi Nigam here. Thanks for reading Trending @ HT! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.
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