She and her mom cannot believe the singer shared her photo.
One little girl has become an overnight viral sensation after Rihanna shared her photo simply because she looks just like the pop star.
“Almost drop my phone. How?” the “Only Girl in the World” singer wrote on Instagram in a post sharing her young doppelganger’s image. The photo has been liked more than 7 million times, with many asking who the young child is.
“Hi, Rihanna, I look just like you,” 7-year-old Ala’a Baytops told Inside Edition.
Ala’a lives in Roanoke, Virginia, with her mom, Bria Baytops, who says her daughter has always been told she looks like Rihanna.
“Honestly, I never noticed, it is always when people say something like, ‘She looks like Rihanna.’ When I have family over and they see her they will be like, ‘Hey, little Rihanna! Hey, little RiRi!’ And she will respond back to them,” Baytops told Inside Edition.
But Ala’a didn't initially know who the singer was. Her mom had to show her.
Baytops said she shared the photo of her daughter after seeing a picture of little Rihanna. People then started tagging Rihanna in hopes of getting the singer’s attention.
“All of a sudden I get about 1,000 followers and it was about 12 hours or so, I went to work and as soon I went to work … this woman came and said, ‘Bria, Rihanna shared your daughter,’” the mom recalled.
The mother was stunned by the singer’s gesture and then saw Tyra Banks also shared the photo.
“I was crying, they were looking for my daughter,” the jovial mother said. “It was amazing. It is still surreal.”
Baytops said she has not received a personal message from Rihanna about the photo but added that she's reached out to her.
“I am just appreciative she shared it because she didn’t have to. I would love for them to do a photo shoot and if that doesn’t happen, I am just thankful that she shared her picture, that is amazing,” Baytops said.
Ala’a has aspirations of being a model, and now that dream might become a reality.
“All of this feels like fate, I really don’t feel like this is real. It is surreal, that is the best description I have,” Baytops said. “That is my kid! Who knew that this child would go viral?”
Ala’a is a typical young girl. While she has a whole life ahead of her, she and her mom are basking in the moment.
“I just really want her to reach her full potential and get everything that is destined for her. I want her to get everything she wants,” Baytops said.
RELATED STORIES
