Rihanna slammed NBA’s Matt Barnes after he fueled dating rumors: funny or cold?

This is the strangest story, but NBA player Matt Barnes seriously overstepped and strongly implied that he was dating Rihanna. Barnes used to play basketball for the LA Clippers, but now he’s with the Memphis Grizzlies. Like many red-blooded males, he has a crush on Rih. Dude pulled a major creeper move, however, talking with TMZ about Rihanna. Speaking to the camera, Barnes called “the stories about him going on dates with Rihanna” mere “gossip,” but he says sure, he could see things turning into a full-fledged relationship. According to Barnes, they’re friends with serious romantic potential.

Never mind that Rihanna is currently dating Lewis Hamilton. Barnes is convinced Rihanna will use her “jet” to fly and see him in Memphis. Mysterious sources told TMZ that Rih went on a few dates with Barnes. Except, nope. Rihanna screencapped Barnes’ nonsense interview and called him out on Instagram:

Oh, this guy deserved it, and Rihanna’s hashtag game is fierce in this smackdown. She called him a devil, accused him of defamation, and made sure the world knows they’ve never met. Then Rihanna added that her feelings were hurt by his lie, which is the most damning statement of all. Ms. Rihanna never admits to never experiencing hurt feelings, but Barnes pulled off the impossible. Now he’ll never have a chance with her, although I’m sure he thought public flirting would get him in the door.

Now what I want to know is this — Rihanna has never delivered such a public dating denial until now. Does this mean that those ridiculous Leonardo DiCaprio rumors could have actually been true? Or perhaps Rihanna just let that gossip go since it didn’t come straight from Leo to TMZ.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN