Snapchat's last few days have not been great, and they have their own poor decision making, as well as Rihanna's influence to thank for it. On Thursday, Rihanna responded to an ad shown on the Snapchat platform that placed her beside ex Chris Brown, who pleaded guilty to assaulting the singer in 2009. It lightheartedly referenced domestic violence, asking whether users wanted to "Slap Rihanna" or "Punch Chris Brown."
"Now SNAPCHAT I know you already know you ain't my fav app out there! But I'm just trying to figure out what the point was with this mess!" Rihanna wrote on Instagram. "I'd love to call it ignorance but I know you ain't that dumb. You spent money to animate something that would intentionally bring shame to DV victims and made a joke of it."
Following Rihanna's message, Snapchat's stock plummeted 5% Thursday and an additional 2% Friday before rebounding to a total $4.7% loss, according to Forbes. Snapchat's CEO has also incurred a strike to his net worth, which fell nearly $150 million over the last two days. He is currently worth $3.8 billion. A CNN report estimated that Snap's market value had decreased by nearly $800 million as of Friday. Snapchat has recruited a domestic violence expert in wake of the controversy.
This is the second time a celebrity has caused a dop in Snapchats stock this month. When Kylie Jenner, the most followed user on the platform, tweeted that she rarely opens the app anymore, Snap's stock reportedly fell 6%, losing the company $1.3 billion in market value.
