‘Snickers girl’ reveals truth behind viral Rihanna meme

A woman whose photo with Rihanna – taken when she was 9-year-old – became a viral meme has shared the “mortifying” story behind it.

A woman has recalled how she was left mortified after becoming a meme at the age of nine without her knowledge.

As reported by The Sun, Sammi Smith, now 21, was propelled to social media fame back in 2015 when a photo surfaced of her pictured next to pop star Rihanna.

In the infamous snap, which was actually taken in 2009, Sammi can be seen beaming as Rihanna hugs her tightly for the photo, as the singer clutches a Snickers chocolate bar in her hand.

The picture was turned into a meme with a caption that read: “I met Rihanna and she took my Snickers away from me and said, ‘You don’t need this fatty.’ I smiled but inside I was screaming.”

After it hit the internet, Sammi was quickly dubbed the “Rihanna Snickers girl”. But now, speaking in a TikTok video, she has broken her silence by posting a tongue-in-cheek video.

@sammiismithh Reply to @lizkatemusic #greenscreen the story behind the meme… #meme#viral#rihanna#snickers#storytime#comedy#fyp♬ Rihanna (Instrumental) - Rude Boy

In it, she can be seen reacting with the caption: “A pic of me as a kid was turned into a very viral meme a few years ago and I still have no idea how whoever made it got the pic.”

Sammi Smith went viral when the picture of her and singer Rihanna circulated on social media. Picture: TikTok

In a longer video, she then explained more.

“OK, so, let’s talk about it. While this is funny, it’s not true. Which seems obvious to me, but a lot of people still ask me about it.

“That photo was taken in 2009, so I was nine. I’m 21 now. I was way too young to have social media and my mum didn’t have social media.

“So when this picture resurfaced back in 2015 – six years later – I have no clue where it came from, or where the story came from.”

Sammi explained what had actually happened was she had given Rihanna a Snickers bar, knowing it was her “favourite candy”.

Sammi has no idea how the meme creator got the photo. Picture: TikTok

Sammi, now 21, has shared the real story behind the snap. Picture: TikTok

“I vividly remember taking it out of the hotel minibar before the show because my mum said, ‘What are you doing?’” Sammi said.

“Because even though Rihanna didn’t say it, I obviously was not the type of kid that should just be eating Snickers bars. But she was super nice when I gave it to her.

“I really never thought about it again after that; she definitely never thought about it again after that – until this masterpiece surfaced on the internet.”

Social media users have praised Sammi for sharing her side of the story and described her as a total “icon”.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as ‘Snickers girl’ reveals truth behind viral Rihanna meme