Rihanna Weighs in on Rachel Dolezal Scandal: "She Was a Bit of a Hero"
Rihanna sounded off on the Rachel Dolezal scandal in the November issue of Vanity Fair, calling her "a bit of a hero"
Credit: Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic; Anthony Quintano/NBC
In addition to dishing on her relationship with Chris Brown, Rihanna also spoke about another controversial figure — Rachel Dolezal — in the November 2015 issue of Vanity Fair.
Credit: Annie Leibovitz exclusively for Vanity Fair
“I think she was a bit of a hero, because she kind of flipped on society a little bit,” Rihanna said about the former NAACP chapter leader in Spokane, Wash., who infamously claimed to be African-American.
Back in June, Dolezal, 37, made headlines when she was accused of lying about her race. Her parents, Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal, said that their daughter was born white and had been pretending to be a black woman for years. They also told Us Weekly that their daughter had cut off contact with them.
Rachel eventually admitted that while she was Caucasian, she identified as black.
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“Nothing about being white describes who I am,” she told Savanna Guthrie on the Today show. “I’m more black than I am white. That’s the accurate answer from my truth.”
“Is it such a horrible thing to be black?” the Barbados-born superstar, 27, asked. “Black is a great thing, and I think she legit changed people’s perspective a bit and woke people up.”
The civil rights activist later stepped down from her post as president of the Spokane, Wash., NAACP chapter.
RiRi isn’t the only star to come out in support of Dolezal. This summer, Raven-Symone also voiced her support for the ex-NAACP chapter leader.
“I love her,” the former Disney Channel star told Us. “Listen, we can’t judge anybody. We don’t know that person’s life. We’re only getting bits and pieces.”
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In the same interview, the “We Found Love” singer also defended her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown.
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“I felt that people didn’t understand him,” Rihanna said.
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