Rihanna was so embarrassed by rumours she landed her record deal by embarking on a sexual relationship with JAY-Z, she couldn't look him in the face.
Stories surfaced alleging the Umbrella beauty was more than just the rapper's business acquaintance when she first made it into the industry.
And even Rihanna's close friends in her native Barbados believed she'd jumped into bed with the hip-hop mogul to seal the deal - but she insists the false stories left her cringing.
She says, "It was like: 'Of course she had to give Jay-Z oral sex to get that deal.' That rumour was everywhere in Barbados and it was so disgusting. It made me feel really weird. I would even be weird around Jay-Z. I wouldn't be able to look him in the eye.
"One day, he called and he was like, 'Yo, you can't buy into these rumours. You can't let people move you with anything they say.' The rumours got very funny to me after that."