
Prince Harry and pop superstar Rihanna exchanged in
some light teasing of one another as the high-profile pair took HIV tests
together in Barbados to promote World Aids Day
The duo, who shared a stage on Wednesday night
during 50th anniversary celebrations of the country’s independence, visited a
clinic in Bridgetown to undergo the procedure and urged residents to follow
their lead.
Harry, 32, persuaded the 28-year-old Umbrella singer
to take the test in public when they chatted backstage at a concert at the
Kensington Oval cricket ground in Bridgetown. The results were both negative.
The royal teased the star before she took the test by saying the process was
painful but the global icon shot back after Harry winced during his
examination. Rihanna told Harry after a pin was stuck in her finger, “You made
it seem like it hurts," adding: "It's not as painful as you said this
morning."
While they waited for their results, the pair spent
the next 20 minutes touring stalls set up in the centre of the capital
Bridgetown to promote the Man Aware campaign, urging men in Barbados to get
tested.
On Wednesday, Harry said he wanted everyone to get
tested for HIV on a visit at a Barbados hospital. He told paediatric consultant
and HIV expert Dr Amok Kumar, "I
want to say to everyone who hadn't been tested - get tested, regardless of who
you are, your background, culture or religion."
"Because of the success of these drugs, which
is great, we are now suffering from complacency and risk going back 10 or 20
years." Aids workers worry that many Caribbean men are unaware that they
are carrying the HIV virus and risk infecting others and becoming seriously ill
because they refuse to get tested early due to the stigma surrounding the
illness. Harry public underwent a HIV test during the summer in London and
admitted he was nervous before the result came back negative.
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