Rihanna shrugs off Hartnett rumors

NEW YORK - Rihanna continues to shoot down rumors that she hooked up with actor Josh Hartnett.

"This is what really happened," the 19-year-old singer tells Allure magazine. "He and my management, they have each other's contact information. I went to (the New York club) Pink Elephant, and he came by. All of a sudden, the next day, I'm seeing that we were kissing and hugging up each other."

"You can't even go out with a friend who's a celebrity and have a good time without people making (bleep) up," Rihanna says in the magazine's January issue. "Well, at least he's good-looking, right?"

The Barbados-born sensation has also been romantically linked to actor Shia LaBeouf and Jay-Z, her boss — and Beyonce's boyfriend. She has denied a hookup with the 38-year-old rapper, who is president of her record label Def Jam.

Of Jay-Z's Grammy-winning gal pal, Rihanna says: "She's Beyonce, and I'm (his) new protegee. When we see each other we say hi. We're not enemies, but we're not `friends' friends."

Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in St. Michael, Barbados, burst onto the music scene in 2005 with her debut album "Music of the Sun," which spawned the hit "Pon De Replay"; her 2006 follow-up, "Girl Like Me" produced the smash single "S.O.S."

But it was her megahit "Umbrella" that placed her squarely in the ranks of the Beyonces of the world. The song, released last May, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — and stayed there for seven weeks.

Her edgy bob haircut also made an impression.

"The label didn't want me to do this look," she says. "But cutting my hair, it made me stand out as an artist. I don't care who likes it — this is me."