Stopping by the island
paradise of Phuket, Thailand, on her Diamonds world tour, Rihanna
took a selfie with an endangered slow loris.
"Look who was talkin
dity to me!" Rihanna captioned the pic.
Soon after, two men got
arrested over this. Why, you ask?
Little did Rih know she
was aiding local authorities in enforcing a law banning Thai citizens from
charging tourists money to take photos with the primate.
According to the Phuket
News, officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources began investigating
the photo at the urging of animal welfare groups.
A police raid turned up
two suspects, 20-year-old and 16-year-old males, who were both taken into
custody. All because Rihanna's
pic went viral.
The men could face up to
four years in prison and big fines while the cute critters in their possession
will be returned to a national park in Phang Nga.
The slow loris, which is
native to Southeast Asia, has seen its numbers dwindle dramatically since the
1960s due to deforestation and the wildlife trade.
Many of the animals seen
in markets often have high mortality rates due to illegal capturing and
extensive abuse suffered at the hands of their keepers.
Hence, wildlife's
conservation groups were concerned that such pics put online by Rihanna could
increase the danger to the protected species.
No one's targeting Rihanna
in the investigation, just the fact that there were guys with a loris who were
offering it up for photos with passing tourists.
Along with the slow loris,
the Barbadian singer uploaded an Instagram shot of her feeding elephants,
writing, "They all hail Empress when she walk by."
Word. Rihanna wasn't done
causing a Thailand stir, either.
The controversial star
posted NSFW tweets about taking in an X-rated sex show in Phuket's red-light
district, which also sparked the interest of local police.
Those shows are against
the law.
Hopefully, as her tour
moves to Singapore and Australia, she'll stick to taking selfies with
non-endangered wild animals like koalas, kangaroos or Chris Brown.
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