Rihanna made no attempt to gloss over her lengthy absence from the stage during her surprise performance with Jay-Z.

Indeed, after stepping back into the spotlight at Yankee Stadium, the superstar offered a strikingly candid assessment of her own performance by admitting that she was feeling “rusty.”

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As previously reported, RiRi stunned attendees by appearing during the final show of Hov’s three-night New York residency.

However, after the pair powered through their 2009 hit ‘Run This Town,’ the 38-year-old paused to acknowledge that returning to such a major stage did not feel entirely effortless.

She fessed:

“Y’all know I’m rusty, right? It’s been a while. Y’all with me right now?” she asked the audience, acknowledging the long gap since her last major performance

Rihanna joined Jay-Z at his Yankee Stadium concert:

“Y’all know I’m a little rusty” pic.twitter.com/mkM1AU8dKY

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 13, 2026

The hyper-honest moment was especially notable given how rarely the hitmaker has performed live in recent years. Rather than sidestepping the inevitable scrutiny surrounding her return, she addressed it head-on before continuing with ‘B*tch Better Have My Money.’

Before exiting, the Bajan star made clear that the experience had reignited something, telling the crowd:

“I missed this s**t, y’all! New York, I love you guys!”

Do you agree with RiRi?

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