Rihanna kicked out of Abu Dhabi’s Grand Mosque over photo shoot

Overseers of Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque asked Rihanna to leave the compound after she posed for photographs considered to be at odds with the “sanctity” of the site.

The mosque staff later explained that Rihanna had been in an area that was typically off-limits to visitors and that her fashion-style shoot didn’t support the “status and sanctity of the mosque.”

Images of the photo shoot, which Rihanna posted to her Instagram account, depict her in a black outfit with her hair covered striking poses and lying down around the grounds of the mosque. Rihanna, who performed in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, has yet to respond publicly to the overseers’ statements.