Rihanna says Rachel Dolezal is a ‘hero’ for ‘waking people up’

The pop star has praised the black rights activist – who was ‘outed’ as a white woman earlier this year.

Pop superstar Rihanna has praised Rachel Dolezal in a recent interview, calling her “a bit of a hero” for “waking people up”.

Ms Dolezal – the former head of a branch of the NCAAP in Spokane, Washington – was ‘unmasked’ as a white woman back in June, after her family revealed the truth.

Her actions provoked outrage across the globe, with many accusing her of racism and other’s claiming she was mentally ill.

However, Ms Dolezal has found an unlikely ally in the ‘S&M’ singer, who praised her action during an interview with Vanity Fair magazine.

“I think she was a bit of a hero, because she kind of flipped on society a little bit,” the singer explained.

“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,” Rihanna told the magazine in a feature story for the upcoming issue.

During her first interview after the news broke, Ms Dolezal maintained that “nothing about being white describes who I am” – before also revealing that she is bisexual.

“I’m bisexual, and so, you know, I’ve dated men and women… and I will intentionally ask, like, ‘So do you just date light-skinned women? What’s your spectrum?’”

Of her appearance, Dolezal admitted her hair was a weave, adding of her skin complexion: “I certainly don’t stay out of the sun.”

She also compared herself to Caitlyn Jenner, who came out as transgender earlier this year.

Dolezal said: “”Just yesterday I finally had a chance to read Caitlyn Jenner’s piece in the magazine and I cried.

“I cried because I resonated with some of the themes of isolation, of being misunderstood.

“To not know if you have a conversation with somebody… will that relationship then end because they have seen you as one way?”

Fox News psychiatrist Keith Ablow went on to actually blame transgender people for Ms Dolezal’s beliefs.

He claimed: “I’ve been saying for a long time we could find ourselves at this moment.

“I’m not judging folks who put forward a transgender position, Caitlyn Jenner and the rest.

“But I did note that when you decide that a genetic reality is not reality, if this woman believes to her core that her identity is that of a black woman, one could argue that she should be accepted according to her quote racial identity.”

• Dec 31 2024

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