15 Things Rihanna and Kurt Cobain Have in Common

Both Rihanna and Kurt Cobain had to deal with their parents divorcing during their childhood. Rihanna’s parents had separated many times before they finally decided to get a divorce when she was 14. Kurt’s parents divorced when he was only seven years old and it had a lasting effect on his attitude. He stated in an interview in 1993, “I remember feeling ashamed, for some reason. I was ashamed of my parents. I couldn't face some of my friends at school anymore, because I desperately wanted to have the classic, you know, typical family. Mother, father. I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that.”

In his suicide note, Kurt said, "I have it good, very good, and I'm grateful, but since the age of seven, I've become hateful towards all humans in general." From everything he's said and written, it's clear that his parents' divorce had a profound impact on young Kurt.

Unfortunately, both Rihanna and Kurt witnessed domestic violence while growing up. After his parents’ divorce, Kurt’s mom began dating a man who was very abusive towards her—something he witnessed often. Rihanna has shared multiple times that she witnessed her father beat her mother as a child. As a result, in their adulthood both Rihanna and Kurt wound up having their own personal experiences with violent relationships; Kurt with Courtney Love and Rihanna with Chris Brown.

In 2009, Chris Brown was arrested for assaulting Rihanna after an argument about a text message. Brown was charged with two felonies and eventually sentenced to five years of probation and over 1,400 hours of community service.

The incident involving Kurt Cobain took place in 1993 and while details are sketchy, Kurt was arrested for assaulting Courtney. Soon after the arrest, she denied that an assault took place, explaining that the two were "wrestling" and playing loud music, and that "Kurt is not violent, he is not a wife-beater, we are the most compatible people on earth." But the police report told a different story. According to that report, Love initially told cops that she had thrown a glass of juice into Kurt's face and he pushed her, then she pushed him, then he pushed her to the floor and choked her. While police were on the scene, they discovered and removed three guns from the house.

Read a 1993 article from The Seattle Times about the incident for more details.

Kurt Cobain dropped out of high school two weeks before graduation when he found out that he didn’t have enough credits to graduate. Rihanna never graduated from high school either. She moved to the U.S. at 15 to pursue her music career instead. But… to the kids reading this, you should totally stay in school.

Being banned from something sounds badass until further explanation reveals otherwise. In 2011, Facebook banned Nirvana’s Nevermind album cover (featuring the infamous baby penis) from being featured on a page dedicated to the album’s 20th anniversary due to Facebook’s nudity policy. Facebook lifted the ban soon after—most likely due to outraged fans—and denied that they ever even banned the artwork in the first place. And in even more ridiculous ban news: a biography about Kurt (Kurt Cobain by Michael Martin) was banned from some libraries due to its contents about suicide, drug use, and mental illness being too dark for children.

Rihanna, on the other hand, has had multiple music videos banned. “S&M” was banned in 11 countries, “Pour It Up” was banned only 10 minutes after it was released, and her latest video “Can’t Remember To Forget You” featuring Shakira has recently been banned in Colombia. Stay posted for updates on her latest video ban in the near future because that’s inevitable.

That logo above started getting printed on Nirvana shirts in 1992, but in 2012 it was tweaked and flipped by House of Ladosha for Rihanna shirts. Rihanna herself has even been spotted wearing one. Fine more about the Rihanna shirts here.

The logo first appeared on this flyer in September 1991, and it's generally agreed that Kurt drew the logo himself, although like most things Kurt did, he never explained the meaning. It is thought to be inspired by the Lusty Lady strip club sign in Seattle.

Mayor Bill Simpson announced that Aberdeen, WA—Kurt Cobain’s hometown—will celebrate February 20, 2014 as Kurt Cobain Day in celebration of his birthday. In 2008, Barbados named February 22, 2008 National Rihanna Day, even though it was two days after her actual birthday.

During the end credits of their appearance on Saturday Night Live, Kurt and his Nirvana band mates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic began making out as their way of “pissing off the homophobes.” NBC replaced that scene with footage of end credits from their rehearsal in future re-airings of the episode.

Rihanna’s SNL performance was less controversial but still a little odd. She decided to perform her hit “Diamonds” in front of a green screen which made it look somewhat reminiscent of those quick, low budget music videos you used to be able to make at the mall.

But there’s one significant difference: Rihanna had involvement with the creation of her shoe, Cobain did not. Rihanna worked with River Island to design her shoe (below) that would be a part of their line. Kurt Cobain’s shoe (above) on the other hand was designed and released years after his death. The Kurt Cobain Converse Collection featured his signature as well as some lyrics and sketches from his personal notebook. Cobain was known to write on his own Converses.

Rihanna was an army cadet in a sub-military program. Fellow Barbados native, singer Shontelle, was Rihanna’s drill sergeant. Kurt Cobain didn’t have as much field training as Rihanna but he did come close to joining the Navy. Kurt's father allegedly asked a recruitment officer to meet with his son, and when Kurt's friend joined, Kurt considered it. He took and passed the aptitude test, but never joined.

Rihanna’s Dad’s name is Ronald while Kurt’s Dad’s name is Donald. Kurt’s middle name is Donald, after his Dad, while Rihanna’s parents decided to go with alliteration instead; R for Ronald and Rihanna.

Rihanna’s song “Stay” is a slow ballad, pleading someone to remain close to her. Nirvana’s song “Stay Away,” on the other hand, is the complete opposite. Rihanna wants you stay, Kurt wants you to stay away.

In 2007, Nirvana’s song “Breed” was featured in the commercial for the Major League Baseball 2k7 video game. To date, this is their first song that has been licensed for advertising purposes. Rihanna herself has been featured in quite a few commercials but her songs have only been in a couple. “California King Bed” was featured in a commercial for Nivea skin care in 2011.

Kurt Cobain married Courtney Love on February 24, 1992. While Rihanna has been linked to a handful of celebrities, her longest and most public relationship was with singer Chris Brown—which lasted on and off for about five years.