The internet, always the ideal tableau to find oneself amid vitriol at the drop of a hat, has taken aim at Tony Bennett in the wake of a largely flaccid Grammys (save for Lana Del Rey’s suave emulation) rounded out by 24K Magic winning album of the year. This, after the man had the courtesy to grace y’all asses with an impromptu acapella version of “New York, New York” with John Legend.
But apparently the wrathful youth wasn’t having Tony Bennett’s literally firm stance on the stage after the announcement of Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna winning the award for Best Rap/Sung Performance for “LOYALTY.” Winning out against Jay-Z like so many other rap artists of the night, Lamar and Rihanna approached the stage to accept the award together. What follows is this: Rihanna affectionately hugs Bennett and then willingly cedes the spotlight to Lamar, essentially “placing” Bennett back in his original spot. Whether Rihanna was just trying to “be humble” is at the viewer’s discretion, but please, for the love of Italy and all its done for your graceless being, do not pin Rihanna’s so-called slight on Bennett. Sweet, sweet angel of a man. And, most uncouth of all, spouting such ageist remarks on Twitter as, “Move over old man.” These are people who could never dream of looking as debonair as Bennett at ninety-one, but don’t worry, they’ll soon learn the hardships of aging.
Anyway, after enough time talking about himself via thanking other people, Lamar eventually “calls” Rihanna to the front after remarking, “Hey Rihanna, what’s up? She came through and gassed me on that record, gassed me on my own song, man.” Rihanna then scoots up, Bennett naturally fading into the background. Towering over Lamar when standing right next to him, she pats his shoulder like a mother praising her little boy. And that’s when it becomes clear: the real reason she chose to remain behind him for all that time was so as to spare him the embarrassment of being so short in stature by comparison. So, if anything, Bennett was merely an unwitting and generous temporary buffer, assisting Rihanna in her calculated plan not to physically overpower Lamar, and every other man on the stage. Call it the congenital woman’s disease of always catering.
