Rihanna Responds to the Viral Recreation of Her Super Bowl Performance
Rihanna sent 100 white roses to the Arcadia Senior Living facility in response to a viral TikTok in which residents recreated her iconic Super Bowl halftime performance.
The TikTok was posted on February 22. In the video, the facility’s residents recreate Rihanna’s performance of “Rude Boy.” Ten women flaunt all-white outfits as they slowly part to reveal 87-year-old Dora Martin, dressed in red, just like Rihanna. Then, Martin sings into a microphone and gives her best dance moves to the camera.
@arcadiasrlivingbg Our halftime show > Rihanna’s halftime show 💃🪩🏈🤍🎶🎤 #seniorlivingcommunity #halftimeshow #SuperBowl #rihanna #fyp ♬ original sound – Brian Esperon
It didn’t take long for the TikTok to blow up, gaining over 30 million views. Now, the video also boasts Rihanna’s coveted stamp of approval.
The superstar’s sweet gesture was very well received by the facility’s residents and workers. In fact, Arcadia Senior Living facility director, Paige Oakes, described the collective reaction to her gift, stating, “We were just in shock. This whole time, we’ve just been waiting for a response from Rihanna — not really thinking that it would ever happen because we know she’s busy, and we didn’t really know if she saw it or not.” Oakes continued, “It made our day knowing that it reached her, and she got to watch it and enjoy seeing our residents dancing to her music and having fun.”
This isn’t the first flower delivery the Arcadia Senior Living residents received recently. Jay-Z also sent 100 red roses to the center on behalf of Roc Nation, the agency that represents Rihanna. Naturally, fans have been loving the heartwarming nature of these interactions.
Every time I see the video of the Seniors performing their rendition of RiRi’s Super Bowl performance I smile. RiRi just sent a whole garden of white roses to their nursing home. I think it was Jay Z who previously sent a garden of red roses to them. Yes, 100 is a garden.🌹🌹
— LJB Short (@short_ljb) March 9, 2023
As residents of the center continue to enjoy the overwhelming support on their video, Oakes is looking into the future. The TikTok account has now amassed over 100,000 followers, and there is a fair amount of pressure to keep the momentum going. In discussing their plans to top this landmark achievement, Oakes explained, “We’re definitely gonna try to, but yeah, this is gonna be a tough one.”
Given the success of this TikTok and Rihanna’s response, it’s only a matter of time before the Arcadia Senior Living facility residents make another viral hit.
