Here's Why Travis Scott Kept His Rumored Rihanna Fling Quiet Before He Met Kylie
Wait, um, hold on a minute. Did Travis Scott date Rihanna before Kylie Jenner? Some old tea may have gotten spilled during a May 26 episode of James Harris and Lawrence Schlossman's podcast Throwing Fits featuring journalist Jonah Weiner. The topic came up during a conversation the three men were having about celebrities who hated what they wrote about them. The celeb who came to mind for Lawrence was none other than Travis, who apparently got mad when Lawrence broke a story at Complex about the rapper maybe having a fling with Rihanna.
“I broke the news about him and Rihanna, which they told me not to do,” Lawrence shared. “Apparently, what [Complex editor Joe] LaPuma, our boy Joe The Puma, told me was that it hurt Complex’s relationship with Travis. This was in 2015 [or 20]16 I wrote this. But apparently, for the next couple of years, he would complain about that.”
OK, now here's where things take a turn for the kind of sad for our boy Travis. Apparently, according to Jonah, Travis didn't want people knowing he was sleeping with Rihanna because she was reportedly embarrassed by him. “It’s not because he’s like, ‘Don’t tell anyone I’m smashing Rihanna.’ It’s because Rihanna’s like, ‘Don’t tell anyone that I’m smashing Travis Scott, please,'" Jonah recounted before adding that "[it’s] obviously embarrassing as f*ck.”
(Elite Daily reached out to reps for both Rihanna and Travis regarding Jonah's claims but did not hear back in time for publication).
The piece that reportedly annoyed Travis was a cover story featuring the rapper and, at one point, Lawrence reveals Travis stood him up for a meeting at New York City's Edition Hotel because he was reportedly "holed up" with Rihanna:
With my situation reaching levels of near universal empathy, the truth is finally revealed: Travis is unavailable because he’s holed up with Rihanna, his recently rumored love interest/girlfriend/friend-with-benefit. What exactly they’re doing upstairs (smoking, f*cking, working, playing charades) I have no idea, but it’s more important than any interview—and I don’t necessarily disagree. Who wouldn’t blow off somebody, anybody, for RiRi? And it’s not just me he’s ducking. Nobody in Travis’ camp can get a hold of him either. Understandably, he’s gone completely dark.
Travis avoids the question when Lawrence later asks about his relationship status with Rihanna but does concede a bit by agreeing to describe Rihanna in three words: "creative," "inspiring," and... wait for it... "muse." Yes. He called her his "muse."
Oh, also, this entire interview took place just as the campaign for Rihanna's then new Puma collection dropped with black-and-white pictures of her beside Travis. I'll just let you read this adorable snippet for yourself:
The campaign drops right in the middle of our talk, and as Travis peruses the #travisscott hashtag on Instagram on his MacBook Air, he comes across a version of the ad with him cropped out and zoomed in on Rihanna. He’s not bothered by this, and in fact, he finds it funny. It’s then that he has arguably his most unguarded moment during the time we spend together, kissing his right index and middle finger and then touching the low-res image of Rihanna’s face, caressing the screen, and glowing with pride. It’s honest and touching and f*cking adorable.
Awww. Now, before you Kylie and Travis stans go freaking out, remember the article was written when Kylie was published way back in the December 2015/January 2016 issue of Complex, which means it was written even before that. Travis and Kylie weren't romantically linked until 2017. No funny business here, people.
