RIHANNA blew viewers away with her incredible halftime performance at the Super Bowl.
However, some fans have been left less than impressed with her X-rated gesture during the show.
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During her performance of her 2009 smash hit Rude Boy, the Barbadian appeared to grab her crotch and then, as one fan put it, "smell her fingers."
This particularly eyebrow-raising moment of an otherwise seamless show has continued to confuse and divide fans on Twitter in the days since the Super Bowl.
One enraged fan brutally commented: "Probably just me but I found Rihanna’s halftime show crude and lackluster.
"I don’t think rubbing one’s crotch and then sniffing your fingers amid a sea of pelvic thrusts-hers and her strippers-is art, much less entertainment.
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"How proud the baby she’s carrying will be of her show."
Another who criticized the 34-year-old said: "Classless halftime performance. Kids watch football too Rihanna, and that crotch rub & sniff was just nasty!"
While another onlooker also took issue with the X-rated move given that younger viewers would be watching, saying: "This is terrible. Her music is good but this performance for a Super Bowl halftime is awful.
"Disgusting to grab her crotch with little kids watching. Pathetic #NFL for allowing that.
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But there were fans who came to Rihanna's defense.
Many referenced the fact that Michael Jackson, who performed at Super Bowl XXVII, frequently performed the same move on stage including on stage at the Rose Bowl in 1993.
One fan said: "I hear people are upset about Rihanna’s crotch grab.
"I think that was unnecessary was more of these smelling her fingers afterward, but I don’t see anyone complaining about the number of times that Michael Jackson grabbed his crotch during his performances."
Rihanna's halftime show kicked off with B***h Better Have My Money, which was followed by Where Have You Been, Only Girl, We Found Love, Rude Boy, Work, Wild Thoughts, Pour It Up, All of the Lights, Run This Town, Umbrella, and finally Diamonds.
However, despite stunning the crowd with her incredible performance, Rihanna didn't make a cent from her work.
Even though Apple paid a reported $250million for the rights to the Super Bowl halftime show for the next five years, per Joe Pompliano, none of that went Rihanna's way.
Pompliano explained that artists are handed a $15million budget to spend on production costs each year, while the artists themselves benefit from the event thanks to the exposure it gives them.
As he put it: "While brands spend $7 million for 30-second commercials during this year’s game, Rihanna will receive a 15-minute commercial for free."
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