Rihanna is pushing back dates for her ANTi World Tour a week and a half before the tour is set to debut…

Less than a week after canceling her highly anticipated performance at the February 15 Grammy Awards, Rihanna is postponing a handful of dates for her upcoming ANTi World Tour.

The world tour was set to kick off in San Diego on February 26, and it was scheduled to travel North America through early May before embarking on a European leg in June. Now Ticketmaster has revealed that at least the first three dates of the North American leg have been pushed back.

Currently it is unclear just how many dates Rihanna and her team will be rescheduling. Some reports claim that only the first few dates will be moved back, while others imply that the “Work” singer won’t be ready to hit the road until May. As it appears on Ticketmaster’s website, it seems as though the infamous bad gal will kick things into high gear on Friday March 4 in Austin, Texas. Time will only tell though if additional dates will shift.

Rihanna’s team has yet to comment on the delay, so it is unclear exactly why dates have been postponed. It is possible that the delay stems from Rihanna’s recent bout of bronchitis, which was allegedly responsible for her cancelled Grammy performance; however some venues are citing “production delays” as the official cause.

Amidst rumors that Rihanna’s Grammys performance was cancelled not due to illness but due to the artist suffering a diva moment, these pushed back tour dates are not helping Rihanna’s image at all. Some sources are speculating that the delayed dates are due to poorly selling tickets, and we would imagine that her cancelled performance this Sunday did not exactly aid in further ticket sales…

Meanwhile ANTi currently sits in the third place on Billboard’s 200 Albums chart, dropping down two places after topping the chart in its second week of release. Although sales of ANTi seem to be less consistent, the project’s lead single “Work” has reached a new peak at the number four slot on the Billboard Hot 100. Album track “Needed Me” sits solidly in the number 84 slot as the sole other track from ANTi on the Hot 100. 

When the ANTi World Tour does kick off, Rihanna is set to share the stage with rapper Travis Scott in North America and Big Sean and The Weeknd across Europe.

What do you think about Rihanna’s delay? Let us know if you were set to attend one of the rescheduled shows below!