- Tyla seemed to be standing in isolation while Rihanna engaged with others, leading to widespread rumors of a rift between the two stars
- Tyla revealed that her hesitation to approach the Fenty mogul stemmed from an awkward encounter the previous year
- The South African singer explained her decision to wait for Rihanna to make the first move this time to avoid a repeat of their previous “uncomfortable” interaction
South African music star Tyla has finally addressed the viral moment involving global superstar Rihanna at the 2026 Met Gala
Social media users had speculated that the billionaire singer deliberately ignored her.
The moment, captured during the glamorous fashion event held on Monday, May 4, quickly circulated online after fans noticed Tyla standing alone while Rihanna appeared turned away from her.
Source: Instagram
Speaking in a clip shared online, Tyla, who recently won her second Grammy, explained that her hesitation to approach Rihanna at this year’s event stemmed from an earlier encounter they had in 2025.
According to the “Push 2 Start” singer, she had introduced herself warmly to Rihanna during their first meeting, only for the conversation to end abruptly.
“Basically, everyone knows I love Rih,” Tyla said.
She recalled greeting Rihanna, who then reportedly responded by saying her baby’s father was calling her before quickly leaving the interaction.
At the time, Tyla said she understood Rihanna might genuinely have been busy, but the experience still left her feeling uncomfortable.
“I felt awkward. What the heck? I felt awkward,” she admitted.
Because of that previous experience, Tyla said she decided not to make the first move this year.
Instead, she chose to wait and avoid creating another uncomfortable moment.
She explained:
“This time, I was waiting for my call, and she was right there. I didn’t want to go up because I felt like she was busy. You know what I mean? The last time she was busy.”
Despite the awkwardness surrounding both encounters, Tyla made it clear that she still admires Rihanna and hopes they can eventually have a more relaxed interaction.
“So, I want to, like when we do speak, if we do end up speaking ever, I want us to be calm so we both get, you know, vibe and talk nicely,” she said.
Watch the video here:
Reactions trail Tyla’s video on Rihanna
Legit.ng compiled the reactions of social media users below
@EbukaTheFirst1 noted:
“Vampz , I’ve never seen you being bias in giving out gist but you using that word NONCHALANT to describe Rihanna situation with the so Tyla is weird because Nonchalant is very far from the narrative which was displayed. Just be careful.”
@MOElizabett noted:
“Using Rihanna to trend her album coming out is a choice tho You know you are being compared to her and her fans say the most nonsense about riri just to uplift this one, The attention she seek , is found Typical SA mentality, they just wanna use people and act victim”
Source: Instagram
Cardi B defends Tyla
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that US rapper Cardi B defended Tyla following the recent social media bullying.
Viewers felt Tyla was rude towards Halle Bailey for asking her to hold her award. Instead, Cardi observed that she was asking Lil Nas X to hold her award because he was the
Source: Legit.ng