Critics Slam Rihanna for Holding Her Son RZA Upside Down During His Second Birthday Celebrations

Is bad girl RiRi a bad mom? Pop star Rihanna recently celebrated her son RZA's second birthday with partner A$AP Rocky and glimpses from the bash were shared on social media. However, the cuteness was overlooked by a handful of critics who called out the Umbrella singer for dangling her son upside down and questioned her parenting skills. 

A user @blexbekene on X, formerly Twitter, declared, "This is wrong." Another user, @sandybabyonyii, echoed, "Risky." Meanwhile, this critic, @kristiano_88, criticized RiRi for being a negligent mother, "This is very wrong. Rihanna should've known better." @badinflu3nc3_ added, "And I thought women were better in parenting than men." 

While some people found it unacceptable, her fans couldn't help but gush over the lovely family and the playful vibes of the birthday bash. An admirer of Rihanna, @ladyHoran4lyfe, could relate to the pop star's way of handling her little one, "Lol, I thought I was the only mother that does this kind of crazy stuff with her kids!!!" @Fj__Ng defended RiRi, "The kids love it!" 

The musicians held a private party for their oldest son's second birthday at Color Factory in New York City on Saturday, May 11, 2024, per PEOPLE. The couple also posed with their second baby, 9-month-old Riot, as seen in the photos shared online by two party guests: producer President Hitkidd and his wife, makeup artist Jasmine B. Cook, or "Jazzy B." 

Cook aka Jazzy B revealed the doting parents went all out to celebrate the birth anniversary of RZA with fun activities, colorful toys, slides, and even a ball pit. The decoration included a "RZA's 2ND BIRTHDAY" banner and large cutouts of the toddler's head. The makeup artist graced the event with her own two kids posing in front of a bright pink backdrop. 

The Diamonds singer took a break from creating music for quite some time and has been shining bright in her entrepreneurial era, courtesy of her beauty venture Fenty Beauty. Also, the 36-year-old spending quality time with her family and her two kids as a source confirmed the outlet that for the couple, "family comes first." 

"They have always had a solid friendship and the romance just enhanced that," the music management source revealed.  Meanwhile, another source gushed that Rocky is such a "fun dad" and RiRi is "all about motherhood" and "loves" parenting RZA and Riot. "She brings the kids on every trip, including work trips," the insider dished. "The kids come with her everywhere. She never complains that she's tired. She seems to just love life." 

The Barbadian singer opened up about parenthood after giving birth to Riot in an interview with Hollywood Access and said she'd want to raise a family that "breaks generational curses." She said, "You don't have an idea. You just hope, 'I can have kids one day and I hope I can have them in love, and I hope that I can be a part of a family that breaks generational curses and moves forward and does new things and raises our kids better than we were raised and all the beautiful things."