The Respectability of a Celebrity
The woman in the photo above is amazing.
A queen.
Worthy of protection.
Intelligent, stylish, philanthropic, beautiful, an entrepreneur, and the list goes on.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty, who goes by Rihanna, Rih, Riri, and by her close friends Robyn, is 29 years old and has been in the spotlight for about 10 years. She has released 8 multi-million dollar albums, a fashion line, an upcoming beauty line, and there is just so much more. (I wrote those facts by memory, btw) She has an instagram account that displays her business ventures, to die for looks, and her humor.
She is the only celebrity I would devote an entire post to.
Y'all don't deserve Rihanna. Shoot, I don't even deserve Rihanna. But yet, she continues to grace us with her presence.
I love Rihanna. Since her days of A Girl Like Me and Unfaithful, I was a fan. I wanted to help her when she was calling SOS. I wanted her to stay loyal to her man in the music video for Unfaithful. I wanted to sing under her umbrella. But, I didn't become a stan until 2009. That's because in February 2009, after the Grammys, Rihanna was the victim of domestic violence. Her then boyfriend, R&B superstar Chris Brown (yuck), beat her and then turned himself in hours later. The pictures were shocking. How could this amazing, superstar couple have this happen? My concern went towards Rihanna, who was under assault (again) by the media and press. People said nasty things about her and thought she was using the incident to propel herself to fame.
All I saw was a woman who was the victim of a crime, who needed to be supported by society, and whose supporter was being coddled because he had guilt. I saw her rise from that situation and address the press head on. She continued her career. She even went back to Chris Brown after some time and tried a relationship with him. It ultimately failed, as I'm sure being with Chris Brown is a test and challenge, especially since he is an abuser. She kept going. Kept releasing more hits and serving all the looks. She didn't just sing about the girl who does whatever she wants, she became that girl. Reinventing her look, giving back to her community, embracing her sexuality, and proclaiming she wasn't trying to be a role model, she was trying to be herself.
In a heartbreaking interview to Oprah, she was so honest about her hurt, I cried while watching it. She was so free in expressing her pain, in knowing Chris was (is) an abuser, and in admitting she still loved him. In that interview, she showed the world the ways that emotion and logic can intersect. She showed the power of forgiveness and she showed what it means to truly be yourself.
Rihanna is rare, because it doesn't feel like I am getting fed a branded Rihanna. With celebrities, its supposed to feel as if we know them, but we know its all branding. Not Rihanna. There is no image she is protecting. Because when you get hurt, especially in the way she did, it breaks you down. It threatens to take all of you, and when you come out strong and better than ever, that is a feat that deserves endless celebration. Rihanna is endlessly celebrating her life, by living it on her terms.
For someone who isn't trying to be a role model, she constantly inspires me.
Also please check out my dear friend Austin Maddox's piece on Rihanna. Her website is super dope and y'all should better your lives! https://austintmaddox.com/thoughts/2017/7/23/to-rihanna-with-love
P.S. While writing this I was listening to Kiss It Better, a song off her eighth studio album ANTI, its her best song to date. Please bless your ears.
