Is Imitation the Sincerest form of Flattery?

According to Rihanna the answer is no. Surprising to some but not to me, the singer mocked a 16-year-old fan who recreated a past red carper look from the singer. 

Alexis Carter was inspired the Alexandre Vauthier jumpsuit Rihanna wore to the 2010 Echo Awards and decided to wear a similar ensemble to her Hollywood-themed prom. "I was like, 'Oh my God, I love this outfit. I wanna go with this outfit. Let me go show my mom!' And I was like, 'Mom, mom, mom, I wanna wear this, it's cool, I love it, oh my god,'" the student told her local Fox  few days ago.

 

A family friend created the jumpsuit, that included a plunging neckline and "wing-like" attachments under the arms. "Everybody was saying, 'Oh my god, I love it. It looks nice. Your body looks good. It's different,'" Carter recalled. 

The next day, however, photos of her outfit began to circulate on social media. On Twitter, #PromBat trended, complete with altered photographs that mocked her jumpsuit.  Rihanna also joined in the mocking on by posting a photo of picture wearing the jumpsuit (with caption "IG") alongside a photo of Carter in her recreation (with caption "Real Life") and a sad face. In another tweet, the "Jump" singer posted a photo of the teen alongside the bat-like logo of the Wu-Tang Clan.


This has been all over social media, I even heard one person say "Why is everyone ganging up on Rihanna" and it's like really?! My opinion on this:  Yea, she didn't start the cyberbullying but she added to it and the fact she is 26 and Alexis is 16! To me that is even more disgusting on her as a public figure. so now more people will bully this girl (please note the retweets and favorites people did when Rihanna posted the first "mocking"

As a person who was bullied herself stories like this hit very close to home to me.  I am happy to see the media and a few on social media as outraged as I am (Instyle, Elle, Fashionista, etc).   It's dangerous to me to bully anyone especially hearing that teens are committing suicide being cyber-bullied.

What are your thoughts on this? Was it harmless fun or bullying to you?

xo

Kosi