Jay-Z's controversial joke about Rihanna's first major deal resurface and people are not happy

In a recently resurfaced interview, Jay-Z shared a moment from 2005 that occurred during Rihanna's audition for Def Jam, where Jay-Z had just taken over as president and CEO of the label. Rihanna, then a 17-year-old aspiring singer from Barbados, was visibly nervous as she prepared to perform for the music mogul, as she has stated.

"We signed (the deal) at night. We didn't let her leave the office until 3 in the morning, he said, explaining that the meeting had begun in the afternoon and because of the quickness of the negotiations, it was uncommon to see how fast a deal got done.

"That's not often. To get lawyers to draft contracts and both sides to agree within 10 hours is...that's re****d," she said, but now people are tying things up from what Rihanna Tyra Banks a few years ago.

The resurfaced dilemma

Jay-Z, in his zeal to secure Rihanna's talent for Def Jam, made a joke that has since sparked significant discussion. He told Rihanna that if she didn't sign the contract, he would throw her "out the window" from the 29th floor. The unsettling nature of the comment has led to renewed scrutiny of the coercive tactics sometimes employed in high-stakes entertainment negotiations.

The meeting, which began "around 3pm or 4pm", stretched until the early hours of the next day. Jay-Z was adamant about not letting Rihanna leave without g the deal, underscoring the high-stakes atmosphere and the pressure placed on young artists.

In reflecting on the experience, Rihanna has mentioned feeling both excitement and anxiety during those crucial hours. This incident has garnered mixed reactions on social media. Some s expressed discomfort over the comment, viewing it as an example of the undue pressure placed on emerging artists. Others see it as a strange but ultimately harmless remark, given Rihanna's subsequent success.