Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes is very good friends with Rihanna and, not bragging, but they’re basically dating now, Matt Barnes told TMZ recently. Uhh—no, reports Rihanna.

“Rihanna is my friend right now, so we’ll see where it goes. It just passed the crush stage a little bit,” Barnes said Sunday, in response to rumors that he and RiRi had been going on dates. (Who started these rumors? Perhaps Memphis Grizzlies forward—errm—Batt Marnes? Who can say.)

That is news to Rihanna, who responded on Instagram that she’d never even met this joker. It’s likely that she’s dating Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, something TMZ should know because they reported it on Saturday, just one day after telling Barnes’ ex-wife, Gloria Govan, that he’d been seen on “two dates” with Rihanna. Seems like the Thirty Mile Zone is trying to orchestrate a drama that, according to Rihanna, isn’t even happening.

This photo was hashtagged:

“#bishwhere #thedevilisaliar#shesnotthatintoyou #shesnotintoyouatall#shesneverevenmetyou#thisactuallyhurtmyfeelings#defamationofcharacter”

“Hahaaa wow,” Barnes reportedly responded on Instagram, but his comment was immediately buried under a flood of crying laughing emojis from amused Rihanna fans.

Sorry, Matt. Looks like you’ll have to find another VIVA Glam™ Rihanna model to date.

[photo: Getty Images]