Matt Barnes Insists He Knows Rihanna, Despite Her Denials

Matt Barnes continued to insist that he does know Rihanna, after the singer shot down rumors the two were dating by claiming she had never met the NBA star.

Rihanna Denies Knowing Matt Barnes After Rumors Of Romance

Barnes found himself at the receiving end of Rihanna’s anger this week, after he bolstered rumors that he was seeing the pop star. On Tuesday, Barnes told TMZ that the rumors of a romantic relationship with Rihanna were false, but that they had “passed the crush stage” and were friends with the possibility of more. Rihanna responded swiftly, sharing a screencapture image of Barnes’ interview with TMZ on Instagram with a handful of hashtags dismissing any potential romance — #ShesNotIntoYouAtAll #ShesNeverEvenMetYou.”

Soon after, other celebrities began taking sides. Barnes’ former Clippers teammate Glen Davis appeared on ESPN’s His & Hers to defend his friend, saying that, whatever the nature of their relationship, Rihanna does, in fact, know Barnes. “Matt Barnes is an honest, stand up guy. He really knows her. He’s not lying about that. Why would you lie about that?” Davis said.

Barnes Insists He Knows Rihanna: “I’m Too Grown To Lie”

After a week of media scandal, Barnes appears to be taking a step back from the situation. During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Barnes maintained that he had told the truth, but admitted he will probably keep things like this to himself in the future.

“You live and you learn. When you’re in a situation like this, you just learn. You just got to keep stuff to yourself, obviously. But the way I’m putting it right now, I’m too grown to lie, you know what I mean? It is what it is, I’m going to let this blow by like everything else blows by,” Barnes said.

When asked about his reaction to Rihanna’s harsh Instagram post, Barnes took the high road, saying, “I just smiled. I just smiled, that’s it. What can you do? At the end of the day we’re all grown-ups.”

Meanwhile, Rihanna is rumored to be dating Formula One racer, Lewis Hamilton.