Rihanna Took in a Lakers Game With Boyfriend Hassan Jameel for Her Birthday
Ever since Rihanna and her boyfriend of nearly two years, the Saudi billionaire Hassan Jameel, were first linked, in mid 2017 (with rumors they’d already been seeing each other for six months), they have managed to keep their relationship pretty low-key. They haven’t even needed to resort to, you know, smuggling themselves out of apartment buildings in steamer trunks; they probably say each other’s names out loud in public. But on Thursday evening, the day after her 31st birthday, the pair spent an evening out that, for Rihanna, at least, was anything but low-key.
Jameel and Rihanna made their way to the Staples Center, where Rihanna’s beloved Los Angeles Lakers were set to face off against the Houston Rockets. Melissa Forde and Jahleel Weaver, Rihanna’s best friend and stylist, respectively, also joined them at the stadium. Jameel wore a black puffer jacket and a white T-shirt; Rihanna wore a Lakers jersey—number 23, LeBron James’s number. (You know that Rihanna-birthday-look meme? Whoever was born on February 21, I hope you like sports.) And, judging by the video still up on her Instagram Stories as of Friday morning, she was extremely hyped about the whole thing—at the end of the game, amid the celebratory flashing lights, Rihanna can be seen cheering a full-throated “We won!,” arms flung in the air. The caption: “LEBROONNNNNN!!!” (The Lakers won, in case that wasn’t evident; it was something of a comeback against a tough opponent.)
Rihanna and Hassan Jameel at the Los Angeles Lakers game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, February 2019. Photo by Getty Images.
In photos from the game, Jameel can be seen smiling next to the singer and beauty mogul, but really it would be hard to have as much fun at a basketball game as Rihanna. She’s long brought friends, family, and dates to sit courtside with her—like, for example, Drake, with whom she was seen at a Lakers game in the midst of their will-they-won’t-they relationship in 2014. She was also previously rumored to be dating the then–Los Angeles Dodgers player Matt Kemp, currently of the Cincinnati Reds, as well as the Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, because Rihanna loves sports; during last year’s World Cup, a photo of Rihanna apparently arguing with Jameel went viral, prompting her to respond with a meme of a female lion snarling at a male lion backed into a corner, captioned, “When u think u know more bout soccer.” Robyn Fenty Rihanna, ultimate sports fan, ultimate LeBron James fan.
Related: Rihanna’s Birthday Outfit Is the Perfect High-Fashion Troll
