Rihanna has never been one to waste words — and her latest response to EJ Johnson proves it once again.
The drama began at Paris Fashion Week, where the Fenty Beauty founder attended the Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2027 runway show on September 29. EJ Johnson, the “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills” alum and child of NBA legend Magic Johnson, later took to Instagram to recap the evening — and took a swipe at Rihanna in the process.
“We just left the Dior show. Getting out of there was crazy, but the show itself was beautiful,” EJ, 34, said in the video. “It did start an hour late because Rihanna was late. We didn’t care to wait for her, but the show was beautiful nonetheless.”
The shade didn’t stop there. A day later, a separate video began circulating online showing EJ being stopped by security while trying to enter their Paris hotel as photographers crowded the entrance.
That is when Rihanna entered the chat. The “Umbrella” singer, 38, appeared in the comments section of the hotel video and left a single-word response: “Damn.”
The brief comment quickly caught fans’ attention, reading as a dry clapback at both EJ’s earlier complaint about the Dior delay and the messy hotel-door scene that followed.
This is not the first time EJ has thrown shade at Rihanna. Following the Met Gala 2026 in May, Johnson claimed the “big names” such as Beyoncé, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian “fell short” with their looks.
Rihanna attended the Dior show in a sleek all-black ensemble — a black spaghetti-strap dress with a black jacket and heels, her dark brown curls styled in an updo, accessorized with black sunglasses and layered silver jewelry. The day before, she turned heads at the Matières Fécales Spring 2027 show in a custom gold tinsel-covered look with a sheer black bra peeking beneath an undone jacket.
Neither Rihanna nor EJ Johnson has issued any further public statement about the exchange. Page Six first reported the story, and PEOPLE reached out to representatives for both stars on Sunday but did not receive an immediate response.
Charlamagne Tha God Has Entered the Chat
And the internet has taken sides. On The Brilliant Idiots podcast, Charlamagne tha God came out swinging for the bad gal, telling EJ to “know your limitations” and declaring that “there’s levels to this queen stuff” — the kind of tier where certain major stars are simply untouchable. Supporters pointed out that major fashion houses routinely adjust show schedules to accommodate guests of Rihanna’s stature, while critics argued that unfiltered fashion commentary is fair game. Either way, EJ picked a fight with one of the few people in fashion who can end it with a single syllable.
She’s Not Just a Guest — She’s Dior Royalty
Here’s what makes EJ’s complaint so tone-deaf: Rihanna isn’t some random front-row filler. She became the first black woman to front a Dior campaign back in 2015 — the house’s first black ambassador — and since 2024 she has been the face of its J’adore fragrance line, a role she still holds. At the Dior Spring/Summer 2027 presentation, she sat alongside Jennifer Lawrence, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mia Goth, Rosalia and Cynthia Erivo — the inner circle of luxury’s inner circle. Dior, notably, has said nothing about any delayed start time; EJ alone has claimed the show was held up for her.
A Very Rihanna Paris Run: Late Twice, Unbothered Always
The Dior show wasn’t even the only schedule Rihanna allegedly bent that week. Harper’s Bazaar reported she also arrived an hour late to the Matières Fécales Spring 2027 show the day before — the very show where she wore that gold tinsel-covered look with the sheer black bra peeking beneath an undone jacket. Her Paris run had started earlier: on September 23, she attended a dinner at César in a black-and-bronze Ferragamo dress after catching a Céline Dion concert. Between shows, she was also on mom duty — to RZA, Riot and Rocki — because the empire runs on multitasking.
And in a twist nobody saw coming, fans dug up an older clip of EJ showing off their closet and name-dropping Rihanna while flexing a Bottega Veneta cape: “I think this the one Rihanna wore after the show. I was actually the only person that bought it off the runway. So, this is mine.” From buying her runway samples to beefing with her on Instagram — that’s a plot twist even Fashion Week couldn’t script.
