'Didn't Care To Wait': Rihanna Replies 'Damn' After EJ Johnson Criticises Her Fashion Week Delay

Rihanna replied to a video of EJ Johnson after the television personality claimed the singer's late arrival delayed Christian Dior's Paris Fashion Week show on 29 September by an hour.

Johnson had attended the Paris runway presentation before sharing an account on Instagram. Their criticism concerned the wait for Rihanna, while their assessment of the show itself was positive.

Rihanna's Dior Delay Draws Criticism

'We just left the Dior show. Getting out of there was crazy, but the show itself was beautiful. It did start an hour late because Rihanna was late. We didn't care to wait for her, but the show was beautiful nonetheless,' Johnson stated in the post.

Rihanna later encountered a separate video in which Johnson appeared to be blocked from entering their Paris hotel after posing for photographers outside. Her comment beneath the clip read 'Damn.'

At Dior, Rihanna wore a black spaghetti-strap dress, jacket and heels, with sunglasses and layered silver jewellery. Her dark brown curls were styled in an updo. She was photographed during a photocall before taking her seat alongside other fashion-world figures.

Harper's Bazaar reported another delay involving Rihanna at the Matières Fécales Spring 2027 show the previous day. According to the publication, she arrived an hour late, pushing back that runway presentation.

EJ Johnson's Previous Verdict on Rihanna

Johnson had also criticised Rihanna's appearance at the 2026 Met Gala. In a May Instagram reel, they included Rihanna, Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian among the prominent guests whose looks, in their view, fell short.

Their criticism extended to the event more broadly. Johnson described the looks as 'awful on awful and awful, and then a little more awful.'

'You have all the heavy hitters, Beyoncé and Rihanna and Kim and they all fell short,' Johnson stated.

Emma Chamberlain received a different assessment. Johnson praised her custom vintage-inspired Mugler look and identified her as the evening's standout.

'The only one who came to work was Emma Chamberlain, honey,' they stated.

When discussing Rihanna, Johnson compared her 2026 appearance with the yellow Guo Pei cape she wore to the 2015 Met Gala.

'It's a very hard day, especially for me to say that about Rihanna because she's been going through a lot but like let's go back to Guo Pei and the yellow cape that was cascading down the stairs all those years ago,' Johnson stated.

Rihanna Was Once Among Johnson's Fashion Muses

The criticism contrasts with Johnson's earlier admiration for the singer. During a 2015 Teen Vogue interview, Johnson named Rihanna when questioned about their fashion muses.

'I love Rihanna all day, every day,' Johnson revealed.

At the time, Johnson was building a fashion profile through Rich Kids of Beverly Hills and a fashion and lifestyle blog. They described a taste for glamour, avant-garde clothing and downtown-edgy pieces.

Moving to New York for college influenced their approach to dressing. Johnson also credited their mother, Cookie, with teaching them and their sister Elisa how to dress and put outfits together.

That December, Johnson attended Rihanna's second annual Diamond Ball at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. The 10 December 2015 event supported the Clara Lionel Foundation, the nonprofit Rihanna founded in honour of her grandparents, which supports education and emergency-response initiatives worldwide.