International pop star Rihanna on Tuesday became the first global name to voice her support to the ongoing farmers agitation

Mumbai: International pop star Rihanna on Tuesday became the first global name to voice her support to the ongoing farmers agitation while criticising the internet shutdown at the protest site.

The 32-year-old singer, who has over 100 million followers on Twitter, took to the microblogging site and shared a CNN news article headlined, "India cuts internet around New Delhi as protesting farmers clash with police."

why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest https://t.co/obmIlXhK9S

— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 2, 2021

"Why aren't we talking about this? #FarmersProtest," Rihanna wrote.

The singer's tweet gained instant traction on Twitter, with more than one lakh retweets and two lakh likes within hours.

Bollywood actors Richa Chadha and Swara Bhasker, who have been vocal supporters of the agitation, lauded Rihanna's remarks, while actor Kangana Ranaut criticised her statement.

Farmers' protest

The singer, who has global chartbusters like "Diamonds", "Umbrella" and "We Found Love" to her credit, was hailed by a section of social media users for speaking up at a time when many Bollywood celebrities have stayed mum on the issue.

Only a few stars from Bollywood, however, have come out in support of farmers, including Diljit Dosanjh, Taapsee Pannu, Richa Chadha, Sonu Sood, filmmaker Hansal Mehta, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Divya Dutta and Neha Sharma.