Singer Rihanna says she is not feuding with singer Beyonce Knowles after fans expressed outrage at the Grammy nominations announcement.
Rihanna was accused of dissing Knowles over Instagram after she liked a post on the photo-sharing website which highlighted the fact she had received eight Grammy nominations while Beyonce was up for nine awards, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
Knowles received nominations in categories including the coveted Song of the Year gong for "Formation", and Album of the Year for "Lemonade", both of which failed to include Rihanna in their shortlist.
Taking to Instagram, one fan account for Rihanna posted a lengthy rant including an emoji of a lemon, which hinted toward Knowles.
The post read: "Congrats and all to Rihanna and all for her 8 Grammy nods but f**k them because they snubbed her for Song of the Year and Album of the Year. Like how my n***a!? I think they didn't want her tied or passing someone else *cough cough* (lemon emoji)."
But Rihanna, who had previously liked the post, then responded to the comments made by her fans, urging them to "drop this topic" and stop "putting black women against each other".
She wrote: "I never actually read your caption, thought the pic was funny and moved right along! Til I seen it pop up over and over! I'm petty af, yes. But this is just unnecessary! I wish y'all would drop this topic and see things from the bigger picture!
"We don't need to be putting black women against each other! We deserve to be celebrated, and the Grammy Academy agrees!"