Australian singer Tones And I has landed herself in hot water after she slammed a fan page for comparing her success to that of pop star Rihanna.
The 26-year-old, real name Toni Watson, 26, lashed out at a fan who commented on an Instagram post about Rihanna’s song Only Girl (In The World) reaching 300 streams on Spotify.
It was the 20th time a Rihanna song has reached this momentous achievement.
The haters are coming! Tones And I, 26, (left) has landed herself in hot water after she slammed a fan page for comparing her success to that of pop star Rihanna, 32 (right)
Taking a dig at Rihanna’s success, a Tones And I fan account commented beneath the post: ‘My kween @tonesandi ended her with one song.’
Astonishingly, Tones And I responded to the comment, commenting: ‘If your [sic] gonna make a fan page on my behalf don’t take jabs at other queens, it’s tacky.’
The blonde – whose song Dance Monkey beat Rihanna’s 2007 hit Umbrella as the longest-running number one single by a female artist in Britain – was promptly mocked by Twitter users.
Swipe: Taking a dig at Rhianna’s success, a Tones And I fan account commented beneath the post: ‘My kween @tonesandi ended her with one song’. Tones And I branded the post as ‘tacky’
Some jokingly questioned whether Tones And I actually has fans in the first place
‘Tones And I has fans?’ one wrote, while another added: ‘She just dragged her only fan.’
Elsewhere, other users lashed out at Tones And I for suggesting that she, like Rhianna, is a ‘queen’.
‘Tones And I has fans?’ Some jokingly questioned whether Tones And I actually has fans in the first place
‘”Other queens”, like she is one. Please!’ tweeted one person, while another added: ‘Wait, she said “other queen” like they can compare?’
Tones And I, a former busker, is a relative newcomer to the world of commercial pop-music, while Rihanna has been releasing global hits for over a decade.
It comes after Tones and I revealed that she’s overcome the ‘overwhelming sadness’ and ‘relentless bullying’ the success of breakout song Dance Monkey resulted in last year.
‘She’s assuming that she’s a queen too!’ Elsewhere, other users lashed out at Tones And I for suggesting that she, like Rihanna, is a ‘queen’
Speaking to News Corp earlier this month, the songwriter said she wants fans to know she’s ‘tough and strong’ and now embraces her global fame with confidence.
Since Dance Monkey was released last May, it’s been streamed over 1.5 billion times, topped the charts around the world and led to much scrutiny of Tones and I (real name Toni Watson), that she previously confessed to struggling with.
‘I’ve felt really good since December… I came to a point where I felt I wasn’t good enough, I’m not good enough to play a festival, I’m a busker,’ she said on Sunday.
‘That was last year, let’s move on’: Speaking to News Corp on earlier this month, Tones and I said she wants fans to know she’s ‘tough and strong’ and now embraces her fame with confidence
‘Then I started to realise I am good enough because who the f**k would deal with that? So at the end of last year I decided I wasn’t going to let anything bother me.
‘It’s easy for people to keep holding on to this “Tones is upset” thing that happened in November, when I was just trying to speak out and be honest, but I want people to know I’m fine and I’m not upset. That was last year, let’s move on.’
She concluded by saying she wants young fans to know she’s a ‘tough person’ and they can look up to her because she’s ‘strong’ and not afraid of being vulnerable.
Global attention: Since Dance Monkey was released last May, it’s been streamed over 1.5 billion times, and led to much scrutiny, that Tones and I previously confessed to struggled with
Back in November, just days after winning four ARIA Awards, Tones and I shared a Facebook post about ‘hiding a big black hole’ of sadness, and her excitement was overshadowed by ‘death threats’ and ‘relentless bullying’ she had received.
‘People always say, “Tones, how does it feel? It must feel great, what are you feeling? You must be over the moon,”‘ she began.
‘It does and I don’t want to take anything away from my well-deserved achievements, and to my fans I love you unconditionally, but I have been hiding a big black hole for a while now.
‘I feel if I hide it, like most artists do, then how are we going to help the next generation of young artists to come… truth is (and we have all seen it), with success comes judgement and opinions.’
Emotional: Back in November, just days after winning four ARIA Awards, Tones and I shared a Facebook post about ‘hiding a big black hole’ of sadness despite her incredible success