Rihanna Is ‘Inappropriately Sexual’ According to Former Spice Girl Mel C

Rihanna & Mel C

Former Spice Girls member Melanie Chisholm, also known as Sporty Spice and Mel C, has blasted Rihanna for being too racy and raunchy for her young fans.

The 37-year-old mother and girl-power advocate told UK’s the Mirror, that despite being a fan of 23-year-old Rihanna’s music, she is not a fan of her overly sexual image.

“People have to take some responsibility, because we’ve got to a point where over-sexualization of young children has gone too far,” Mel explained. “I think music is a big part of that. Women in music, very successful women, are extremely sexual and they have young fans. It is inappropriate,” the singer continued.

“Rihanna has responsibility and although culture’s always changing, it’s changed too much. It needs to be dealt with. It’s reached saturation point. We owe it to our kids to protect them. Rihanna’s free to do as she pleases, of course, but I think her take on the criticism she’s had is interesting.”

Mel might be referring to RiRi’s defensive attitude in her response to critics saying her banned-in-11-countries ‘S&M’ video was all about sex.

“I love Rihanna, I think she’s a f—— brilliant artist, with great songs, a great record and she looks fantastic … but she’s not a mum. Maybe if she becomes one she’ll feel different. I hope so anyway.”

Mel C isn’t the first female celeb and music industry mom to call out RiRi on her hyper-sexy image. Gwen Stefani spoke her piece on the singer’s scantily clad style, while fellow mom Jennifer Lopez defended Rihanna for keeping things interesting by pushing the boundaries.

Rihanna ‘S&M’ Lawsuit Moves Forward; David LaChapelle’s Claims Found Substantial

Rihanna

Teeming with gag-balls, whips and a lot of leather, Rihanna’s video, ‘S&M,’ was bound to get our attention.

But perhaps not this much. When the salacious video was released, it received immediate backlash–some because of its controversial subject and others because of its artistic vision and execution.

Photographer David LaChapelle, whose work has appeared in various fashion and music magazines, sued the R&B star this February for allegedly copying his work in her video. LaChappelle said that this infraction occurred eight times throughout the course of the video.

Despite their similarities, pinning copy right infringement to the somewhat ineffable qualities of “composition, total concept, feel, tone, mood, theme, colors, props, settings, decors, wardrobe and lighting” of the video is no easy case.

Lucky for LaChapelle, he’s now made it passed the first round of legal bureaucracy. New York Judge Shira Scheindlin finds the photographer’s claims sufficient to support a charge of copying. Interestingly enough, the concrete similarities such as the use of leashed men, gag-balls and leather–the real meat and potatoes of the video–are not a basis for infringement.

Rather, it is the video’s use of “angles, poses and lighting” that’s protected under copyright, according to the judge.

The similarities between Rihanna’s ‘S&M’ and LaChapelle’s photographs no coincidence, he says. The video’s storyboards actually used his photographs for inspiration.