Matt Barnes Says He Definitely Dated Rihanna: 'I'm Too Grown to Lie'

Matt Barnes Says He Definitely Dated Rihanna: 'I'm Too Grown to Lie' 

"You just got to keep stuff to yourself, obviously," the NBA vet tells Jim Rome after RiRi roasted him for speaking about their relationship

Matt Barnes and Rihanna: Theirs is a forbidden (and perhaps fictional) love. NBA/Getty; Johnny Nunez/BET/Getty

We began the week with the sordid tale of Rihanna and Matt Barnes' Dategate, and despite RiRi's wishes, we're still talking about it as the week comes to a close.

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Rihanna Shuts Down Matt Barnes

For those keeping score at home: First, Barnes – or "sources" close to the NBA tough guy – told TMZ he'd been on a couple of dates with Rihanna,
 a story more-or-less backed up by Barnes himself. This was apparently news to Rih, who punked him on Instagram and said she'd never met the new member of the Memphis Grizzlies. Naturally, given Barnes' reputation, most people sided with the Bajan Beauty. But on Tuesday, Barnes' former teammate Glen "Big Baby" Davis came to his defense, saying he "really knows" the pop star, insinuating that there was a little more brewing between the two than mere friendship.
Hoping to end the debate once and for all, Barnes went on The Jim Rome Show to finally tell his side of the story.



"You live and you learn," Barnes said. "When you're in a situation like this, you just learn. You just got to keep stuff to yourself, obviously. But the way I'm putting it right now, I'm too grown to lie, you know what I mean? It is what it is, I'm going to let this blow by like everything else blows by."
Rome then asked Barnes for his thoughts on Rihanna's Instagram takedown:

"I just smiled. I just smiled, that's it," he said. "What can you do? At the end of the day we're all grown-ups. Like I said I'm too grown to be lying about stuff, but life is life. You live and you learn."
You do indeed – except in this instance,

 where all we've learned is that only two people (and one Big Baby) really know what happened between Barnes and Rihanna, and since they're all sticking to their stories, we're left with nothing. Kind of like Barnes, who definitely lost his chance with Rihanna when he opened his mouth.