Rihanna Shades Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’? Screenshot Of Deleted Tweet Lives On

“Work” singer Rihanna took an indirect hit at Beyoncé Tuesday when she favorited a tweet by one of her fans. The Twitter user essentially asserted “Desperado,” one of RiRi’s news songs, was more popular with listeners than “Formation,” the controversial song Beyoncé performed at Super Bowl 50.

“The fact that ‘Desperado‘ is HIGHER on the Bubbling Under chart than a single performed to a global audience,” netizen @DruChaos wrote. It also included a picture of Beyoncé’s husband holding his hand over his mouth as if he’s in shock. The “global audience” part is seemingly a reference to “Formation” being performed at the Super Bowl.

The post was removed by the user; but because nothing really dies on the internet, a screenshot of the tweet lives on.

Though Rihanna, 28, didn’t openly slam Beyoncé, she made sure to promote her single, “Work,” which features rapper Drake. “#WORK is sittin [sic] pretty at #1 for a second week in a row on #BBHot100!!! Big ups to God and my fans!!!” she wrote to her 56.8 million followers Monday.

While Rihanna has apparently taken aim at Beyoncé, talk show host Wendy Williams slammed the Barbadian beauty last week. “Rihanna will not be a legend. Nope!” Williams, 51, said during the Hot Topics segment of her show. “Beyoncé will do her residency in Vegas at 55 years old, and you will go see her. Rihanna will attempt to do it, but as soon as she get up there and says the B word better have my money…” She added: “Rihanna is good for right now. She’s not a legend. Nor will she be.”

The apparent feud between Beyoncé and Rihanna stems from rumors RiRi had a tryst with Jay Z. “[Beyoncé] had a tendency to become moody and defensive when under great work pressure, and it had begun to drive a wedge between her and Jay,” celebrity journalist J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote in an unauthorized biography, according to Radar Online. “The two broke up for a time during that year. She flat-out told him she needed a break.” That’s supposedly when the cheating took place.

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella