Rihanna may have flexed on FADER recently by scoring a cover story without an actual interview for their 100th issue, but the singer had plenty to tell Vanity Fair as she graces the November issue that hits newsstands this week.
For her latest cover story, Rih Rih sizzles in the streets of Havana, Cuba with world renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, reintroduces her signature red hair for a fierce photo shoot, and sits with VF’s Lisa Robinson for a candid conversation about music, sex, Chris Brown, and why Rachel Dolezal is “a bit of a hero.”
On the controversial former NAACP chapter president in Spokane, Washington, who was “outed” as white, Rihanna said, “I think she was a bit of a hero, because she kind of flipped on society a little bit.”
“Is it such a horrible thing that she pretended to be black? Black is a great thing, and I think she legit changed people’s perspective a bit and woke people up.”
But comments on Dolezai was just one of many juicy quotes from the in-depth story, which features a couple notable things about the “FourFiveSeconds” songstress. For one, Rihanna recently struck a deal to own all her past and future master recordings. “What took me 15 or 20 years to get has taken her 10, and will take the next person 5 years,” says Jay Z in a quote. “It’s great to be able to help fight that fight.”
Through the new deal, Rih Rih’s new music will be released through her own company, Westbury Road. She’s also a big LeBron James fan. “I woke up at seven A.M. in Japan to watch the last game of the finals,” she says. “I felt so bad when he lost.” The entire in-depth cover story can be at Vanity Fair, but below we compiled a few highlights to skim through.
On dating life:
“I haven’t been having sex or even really seeing anybody, because I don’t want to wake up the next day feeling guilty. I mean I get horny, I’m human, I’m a woman, I want to have sex. But what am I going to do—just find the first random cute dude that I think is going to be a great ride for the night and then tomorrow I wake up feeling empty and hollow? He has a great story and I’m like… what am I doing? I can’t do it to myself. I cannot. It has a little bit to do with fame and a lot to do with the woman that I am. And that saves me.
It is lonely, but I have so much work to do that I get distracted. I don’t have time to be lonely. And I get fearful of relationships because I feel guilty about wanting someone to be completely faithful and loyal, when I can’t even give them 10 percent of the attention that they need. It’s just the reality of my time, my life, my schedule.”
On give Chris Brown a second chance:
“I was that girl… that girl who felt that as much pain as this relationship is, maybe some people are built stronger than others. Maybe I’m one of those people built to handle s * like this. Maybe I’m the person who’s almost the guardian angel to this person, to be there when they’re not strong enough, when they’re not understanding the world, when they just need someone to encourage them in a positive way and say the right thing.”
“I was very protective of him. I felt that people didn’t understand him. Even after … But you know, you realize after a while that in that situation you’re the enemy. You want the best for them, but if you remind them of their failures, or if you remind them of bad moments in their life, or even if you say I’m willing to put up with something, they think less of you—because they know you don’t deserve what they’re going to give. And if you put up with it, maybe you are agreeing that you [deserve] this, and that’s when I finally had to say, ‘Uh-oh, I was stupid thinking I was built for this.’ Sometimes you just have to walk away… I don’t hate him. I will care about him until the day I die. We’re not friends, but it’s not like we’re enemies. We don’t have much of a relationship now.”
On that long-awaited album:
“She wants it to be perfect,” says Jay Z.