Rihanna celebrated her annual Diamond Ball yesterday dressed in a black Givenchy Haute Couture gown from Claire Waight Keller's Fall 2019 collection. The 31-year-old singer/actress/mogul welcomed an A-list crowd to the gala in support of the Clara Lionel Foundation, which she founded in honor of her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite.
Among the celebrities in attendance at the event, which was hosted by Seth Meyers, were Cardi B, Normani, A$AP Rocky, Meek Mill, Kehlani, Naturi Naughton and Megan Thee Stallion, as well as, the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley. Rihanna, who seemed ecstatic at how well the event has been received, told PEOPLE, “I mean I’m really happy right now. The thing that’s making me the happiest tonight is seeing the amount of support, the magnitude of support is really special.”
“I mean I could be out here and throw a ball by myself and I’d feel good, but the thing that’s making me feel this high of cloud 9 is seeing people who believe in my cause and think it’s something worth donating to, something worth investing in,” she added.
The Clara Lionel Foundation supports and funds global education, health, and emergency response programs and also advocates to improve the quality of life of children around the world. The 2019 ball followed Rihanna’s inspiring Savage x Fenty New York Fashion Week show at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Tuesday.
During the auction portion of the Diamond Ball, Cardi B coughed up $111,000 for a rare signed photo book of Rihanna, which has been curated by Nikolai and Simon Haas and features 1,000 images of the singer. The book was placed on a custom-built marble stand. After the auction, Rihanna stopped by Cardi B’s table to show her appreciation and give her a hug.
The Barbadian singer is currently working on her ninth studio album. When asked by Entertainment Tonight about performing at the Super Bowl, the singer was direct as usual. “I still got an album to finish,” she told the outlet. “You gonna ask me about Super Bowl? My fans about to have my neck.”
As for her romantic status, Rihanna is still quietly dating entrepreneur Hassan Jameel. The couple, who have enjoyed romantic getaways to Mexico and Spain, have managed to keep the relationship under wraps. Their secrecy is understandable since Jameel is not your average A-lister. He belongs to the 12th richest family in Saudi Arabia with a net worth of $1.5 billion, according to Forbes.
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Jameel’s family owns Abdul Latif Jameel, a Toyota Motors distributor in the Middle East and they sponsor the Saudi Football League, which is known as the Jameel League. Last month, Rihanna and Jameel enjoyed a night out in Santa Monica, California with her mother and brother. Two months before, the couple was spotted with Jameel's family at Lo Scoglio in Nerano, Italy. We won’t speculate but it seems serious.
