Rihanna covers the November issue of British Vogue while wearing an Armani Prive dress and what looks an awful lot like a Marilyn Monroe-esque wig (and the blonde is reminiscent of that wiglet she wore in her Armani ads). As the magazine puts it, the photoshoot sees Rihanna “reveal[ing] a new quiet sophistication,” which makes very little sense considering that her ass is hanging out in a number of the shots. Don’t get me wrong — her ass looks good — but it’s still front and center with nothing sophisticated about it. If British Vogue wanted to go with classy, they shouldn’t have relied on the image of Rihanna to try that game. Speaking of images, Rihanna now claims that her entire image (one that actually has a Spice Girl speaking out in disgust) is all just pretend, and she’s not really like that at all:
On Her Sexed-Up, Vamped-Up Image: That’s not me. That’s a part I play. You know, like it’s a piece of art … I just want to make music. See, people – especially white people – they want me to be a role model just because of the life I lead. The things I say in my songs, they expect it of me and being a role model became more of my job than I wanted it to be. But no, I just want to make music. That’s it.
On Her Favorite Designers: Stella McCartney is so much fun and so inspiring, I adore her. Oh my God, when I first woke up to [Christopher Kane] with that collection he did with gorillas? I was like, who on earth is making this perfect sh-t? He is the best!
On Her Everchanging Hair: I don’t ever want to be a theme because then it belongs to someone, and that’s not right. I want to cultivate something that’s part of my personal swagger – whatever my mojo tells me, that’s what I’m going to do…
On Loving The “C-Word”: It’s funny. The word is so offensive to everyone in the world except for Bajans. You know African Americans use the n-word to their brothers? Well that’s the way we use the c-word. When I first came here, I was saying it like it was nothing, like, “Hey ****,” until my make-up artist finally had to tell me to stop. I just never knew.
[From British Vogue]
I honestly haven’t minded Rihanna up until now, but I don’t know about these statements. Her voice is okay, but she’s autotuned to hell, which is to be expected in today’s music industry. Also not surprising is her S&M/sex kitten image, which doesn’t even bother me that much if she at least owns it with some authenticity. However, now Rihanna’s trying to say that she’s not like that at all — she’s a good girl. So the scantily clad, topless videos in Irish fields and the off-duty drunken stripper routine is all “art”? Well, James Franco and Lady Gaga both called, and they want their mutual tired shtick back. Art, really? Just call it moneymaking, and we’ll leave it at that with at least a little bit of respect.
Here’s more from the editorial of the British Vogue shoot. I won’t even discuss the Armani couture because no one’s looking at it while that booty is on full display. Just keep in mind that, you know, Rihanna is merely playing a part here.
Photos courtesy of British Vogue
sorry, but what’s the c-word? hehe
I hate the yellow hair and the vagina-colored lipstick.
The beauty team for this shoot should be shot.
And how well you play the part Rhirhi. How well you play it.
@ KLO –
OMG!!! Now that I read your comment…it’s all I see in these pics…..Vagaina colored lipstick.
Maybe her lips color is called “Luscious Labia”?
The photo’s are meh…..not bad, but not good by any definition.
I like the photo-shoot. It’s another dimension to her game.
What would be wrong with playing the part of an actual talented singer, instead of a tatted-up stripper?
I think she’s a pretty girl but what I can’t stand are the blond wigs that they put on her….again. Why? Her hair/weave looks good right now.
I was offended at what she said. Much of her fan base is WHITE, or, as she disparagingly refers to them as, ‘white people.’ Well, I’ve got some things to say:
*Rihanna, you’re a “sell-out.” Your videos where you shamelessly act like a hooker ARE NOT ART. It’s called a total lack of imagination & creativity. If she has a problem understanding the former statement…how about this…Rihanna, you’re trying to sell sex and not yourself…and it’s NOT ART.
*Again, I take issue w/her referring to ‘white people.’ So, Rihanna, it’s a black/white thing? Well then, listen up..if you are so anti-caucasian, I suggest you rip off that rag of a blonde wig then…blonde hair is a “caucasian thing,” and you look absolutely ridiculous in that wig!!!
*If you want to be true to yourself and “YOUR ART,” then you may want to do music videos reflecting your real sexuality, which is BI-sexual, at best. I’ve read and heard too much about your same-sex hookups…don’t hide it!!!
*I predict that the general public will tire of your predictable antics in the future. I also can’t remember the last time you put out a song that I really liked.
I heard her sing ”live’ & had to pull my dogs tail because hearing it help yelp much better than her ”singing”..
That said she is 1 gorgoeous gal..i so would..so many times you wouldn’t believe it
I like Rihanna, but I don’t think she’s in it for the long haul – you don’t release a new album every damn year unless your trying to milk every last drop of fame & filthy lucre before you disappear. Fortunately for her, she’s around at the same time as Lady Gaga, which means she will never be the most try-too-hard, overexposed singer of any given moment!
And she looks fabulous in the pics, although almost anyone could look great in classic black Armani.
I’ve never minded her in your face sexuality – but now that she’s trying to deny it, seems kind of sketchy. The whole “part I play” sounds like a Beyonce rip off- and I very much buy it with Beyonce, but Riahnna has given us WAY to much detail in the past to buy that. I do like the fully clothed photos – a new look for her, and she’s wearing it well.
I consider her disgusting. She is talentless & relies on her sexual antics to promote herself. GAROSSSS!!!
Oh please…so all the boob-baring and crotch grabbing, the lewd outfits and sex tapes floating around the interwebs are just an act? I think not, nor was the necklace she was photographed wearing a few weeks ago IN CHURCH with C-U-Next-Tuesday on it. She is what she is, a vulgar skank.
I wish celebrities would just go the flow and embrace the images that they create in order to sell themselves to the public…..instead if this twisted dual personality cluster fuck of nonsense.
excuse me? “especially white people” want you to play this part?
Excuse me, Ms. Porn Star – you do it because you want to do it and not because people (“especially white people”) want you to do it.
Grow up.
ok … on the whole white ppl thing.. i am a black woman and i took offense to it. really riri its not just white ppl who have issues with your sluty image that u are selling. we have seen pics of you in your home town at carnival where you a near naked and grinding on whoever is around.. are u playing a part there too? i have no feeling about her bad or good. But in this interview you can tell she could care less about anyone but her self, even her fans who buy her albums
I would think that there are also people of color that want her to be a more positive role model as well. I think it’s lame when pop singers shrug off the role model aspect. You are famous and adored by young people, why not try to be a little classy?
The “look at me I’m sexy” shtick is real old. We get it Rihanna, you’re wild, you like to have fun, you have a great ass. What would really be shocking is if she portrayed a little of the class and ‘sophistication’ this shoot is supposedly about and kept her clothes on for a change. Yes I know, sex sells but Rihanna is selling far too much of it. It’s boring now.
The white people remark, lol.
I enjoy a lot of her music, catchy dance pop. I admire the fact she has been on the road nonstop for three years. That’s hard. But own your image. At least, Madonna did. But she didn’t bombard everyone with every song or video like that. She put out songs like Live to Tell, Cherish, Isla Bonita, and personal songs like Oh, Father, This Used to Be My Playground with moving videos. Take note,
Rhianna, and stop being a one-dimensional act and then trying to distance yourself from the very image you portray nonstop.
In that first picture, she is quite correct – that is not her – it is some photoshopper’s idea of her!
And I agree that she looks ridiculous in that wig and that what she does under the guise of ART is ARTLESS!
bottom line is – she can’t sing a note
put your flange away love for god’s sake
STFU rhianna you just a horny musical ho.
She’s so damn hot.
Two statements stuck out to me the most….”You know African Americans use the n-word to their brothers” AND “See, people – especially white people – they want me to be a role model just because of the life I lead. ”
Wow just wow…the ignorance is overwhelming.
Sign on with everyone imagine if Toby Keith said this about black people or someone like that reverse the roles – I agree tapioca music is just a way to live the life, she has no real interest in it, and that lame schtick she does and calls music is getting old.
ok, rihanna is NOT an artist, number one. i’m so sick of everyone fancying themselves an artist these days. bitch, you can barely sing and performance-wise you are right on par with 2011 britney spears. secondly, that “white people” comment was really careless..i’m willing to bet that a huge amount of her audience is white, so, there’s that. but besides, why make it about race? why even go there? dumb ass.
saw a video of her trying to sing livin on a prayer with jon bon jovi live. She has no voice, not at all. Jbj was not at his best but still way better. You cant even hear her when she sings alone.
I think she’s starting to come to terms with the fact that her sexiness/trashiness is the only thing she’s got. Therefore she is trying to convince herself and the public that there is so much more about her, that we don’t get the full picture, that she is not just a sexed up bitch with a smug face. Unfortunately for her, that really is all she’s got.
To me she just sounds so silly – like she believes this crap herself *snort*
I like Rihanna for the pop tart that she is. She is no adele nor does she pretend to be; she puts out bubblegum, meaningless pop songs that I jam to from time to time. But, I am annoyed by this interview. In everything she does, her bare ass is always front and center even when there is no need for it. If you want to be a sex kitten and have a risque image, fine…do you. But, at least, OWN IT. Don’t try to play it down. Her sexy image doesn’t bothered me in the least, it works for her but she is backtracking instead of owing up to it. It is the same thing with whores. If you want to be a whore, be one but own that shit. Rihanna needs to sit.
Gah, can’t anyone ever just own up to who they are and what they are doing.. expecially when they have a camera on it???~
I smell a “my words were misconstrued/ taken out of context” type apology for the white ppl comment. They really need to stop putting those f*ing blond wigs on her. She looks ridiculous.
that dress on the cover is intriguing.
@KimBob…well said!
It kills me that these talentless, classless, douches take themselves so seriously and actually think people believe the shit that spews from their mouths. She knows damn well that she can’t stop acting like the sleaze that she is because getting judged on pure talent isn’t an option for someone that sounds like her. Even she gets that it would all go downhill from there. The sex thing is the only thing she has going for her. It is funny, though, how she throws the word art around…Rhianna and art in the same sentence…now that’s funny!
As to the role model comment: Are you serious? You really believe that white people (as you so eloquently put it) want you to clean up your act so that YOU’RE a positive role model. Saint or sinner, dressed to the nines or dressed like a whore…you were never even in the running. You’re just not relevant.
Get yourself an education so the next time you’re interviewed, you’ll actually sound intelligent and not so ignorant. Open a book…instead of just of your legs.
At least she works for a living Kim k. is talented for nothing
and no Kim is not a model she does not have model looks.
When the last time you seen a model that was five foot?
i luv rihanna and i luv what she does it’s damn funny and it’s damn free…so u only give that to gaga or what?
u haters need to shut the fuck up.
@Celine You’re rude. Maybe you need to take your own advice.
I’m not buying what Rihanna is selling. If it’s all a show biz act, then why is it carrying over into her personal life? BS alert.
Airbrushed…….where’s her big fat thighs gone?
@ celine – there’s a civilized way to respond and debate someone’s post, you clearly don’t know the protocol of offering an educated opinion so cool it with the insulting language.
blame her PR team….they made her say that crap
This is exactly what i have always said-=that she’s just using this ‘provocative’ stuff to sell records,and is not really like that.
WHICH is why I can’t stand her. She’s soo full of it and is not expressing anything artistic or otherwise. she’s just using an image to sell and make money. She’s not exploring anything truly edgy for her or in general.
She’s so dumb. She says she doesn’t want to be a theme, that she just wants to make music, and then says everything she does is just an ‘image’. duh. that IS the definition of a theme.
I really cannot stand her and even more so, as the years of her in the spotlight go on.uugh.
whatever lady.
oh, and I LOATHE gaga; I can’t stand Rhianna, but i viscerally loathe and avoid anything having t do with Gaga. so no, it has nothing to do with black or white.
Damn man, her skin in this photo shoot looks almost as white as mine!
There is so much to say here.
The “especially white people” comment is outrageous. Imagine if Taylor Swift said something of this nature about black people? Hispanic people?
Oh wait, that would never happen. Not because Taylor is white but because Taylor has class, is always herself and doesn’t lie about who she is.
Some of you ppl are so racistm. But guess what? Rihanna is in ur face! Hahahaha I love her! Get that money cunt!!
1. When I first saw Rihanna (on Ellen I think) I thought she was beautiful
2. Everytime I see Rihanna half-dressed, I find her less attractive ’cause it is so Outrageously unclassy
3. White ppl comment: Who cares? The more I see and hear of her the less I care what she says about anything. Besides, if that’s her opinion even though it’s ignorant then she has a right to express it. Also, I don’t think she’s trying to slight white ppl, she’s just very young.
4. The Blonde wig needs to go and not just for Rihanna. Anyone doing a Marilyn Monroe-esque color/wig should stop regardless of race. It’s so overdone.
5. I still like some of her music…you know, for what it is.
6. I love, love, love the dress in that first picture.
Could someone tell me what is so offensive about the phrase “white people”? Was it the context? The woman just mentioned that people, particularly white people, expect her to be a role model. What the heck is so offensive about that?
Is any mention of race, no matter how innocuous
(sp), considered racist?
@Grantra: The best way to find out if something is racist is to reverse the colors and then guess what people would think. So, imagine if Toby Keith said “See, people – especially black people – they want me to be a role model just because of the life I lead.” You would see Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton calling for boycotts on Toby in a nanosecond. That’s the main problem with what she said. I’m not qualified to say if it was racist, I don’t know what’s going on inside her head but at the very least, it’s condescending. Not a good thing to do to a big part of your paying fanbase. Have we learned nothing from the Dixie Chicks?
Rihanna reminds me of so many other artists who become famous and then immediately start thinking they’re as intelligent as their press releases make them out to be. The next thing you know, they’re out there getting involved in politics or something and pretending to know so much more than everyone else out there. They really need to just shut up sometimes. No one cares what Rihanna thinks about even the most esoteric parts of race relations or anything else for that matter. They just want to look at a singing, dancing tart. And if it makes her money, fine. She’s cute, I have NO problem with what she does or how she does it. But we don’t need her talking. It just ruins the illusion of her possibly being intelligent.
I will admit she makes a better fake Marilyn Monroe than Lindsay Lohan any day of the week though. And I’d much rather read about Rihanna than that walking meth lab.
I don’t understand why folks are freaking out over the term, “white people.” If she said the word, “black people,” NO Al Sharpton would not be boycotting her, very very bad example Dawning Red. One would have thought she called white people out there name. I never knew the term “white people” was offensive. I learn something knew everyday.
By the way she said white people want her to be a role model, but she said she does not want to be one, hmm very offensive statement! *sarcasm*
@Bella: I think you misunderstood my comment. I said that if *Toby Keith* had said it, yes I’m pretty sure Sharpton would be very offended.
I’m not even mildly annoyed by what she said, truth be told, and I sort of doubt anyone else is either. Rihanna could be out there screaming about everything that pisses her off and it wouldn’t affect my life at all. But it is amusing to note, then mock it. It’s fun to laugh at. Although why she thinks white people are “especially” looking forward to her being a role model is a mystery. How is she privy to this? Was there some kind of huge meeting of white people that agreed to feel this, and someone tipped her off? o.o
Again, I sort of doubt she’s some kind of racist, but she’s somewhere between clueless and condescending. She’s grossly generalizing in either event.
Reading this interview only reinforced what i already thought of her as a person (not her music);
IMMATURE SKANK.
So it’s all fake?
Not surprised about that, she’s such a yawn.
She sounds like a dumb ass.
I’m know she is not a talented singer, but she’s a good entertainer…and God, that body, that ass, that’s what a woman’s body should look like, not skinny twigs with a bobble head.
Black people should take offense at what she said. She is basically saying black people have no standard way of behaving who go around dressing anyhow and shouting c*nt and n**ga to each other – people with no morals to speak of. The white people comment is lame too in that she regards them as utter fools. I always knew Rihanna had nothing upstairs and she has just confirmed it.
@ Kimbob and Miranda- calm down, its not that serious!! She is just a pop tart and she is right the bulk of her fans are white people. That’s not racist,it’s just a fact! Rihanna doesn’t take herself too seriously and you shouldn’t either!
Does this chick think we all forgot about the nude photos of her that leaked from her phone a while back? Or how she said that if you don’t send naked pictures to your boyfriend she feels sorry for him?
This is no act. What’s happening here is that she is a trashy slut and she put it out there under the guise of sexual liberation and when the verdict came back that everyone sees her as a trashy slut she decided it was time to say that it was all just an act for her music career. Right. Good luck with that.
“Vagina colored lipstick” LMFAO!! That was awesome.
I think she’s pretending to pretend.
I’d have more respect for her if she weren’t trying to cover up her sexual side. After all, this is the woman who sends her lovers nudes and has at least one sex tape floating around.
She looks like Bonnie from Bonnie and Clyde.
Yeahhhhh NO. That’s what you are. I have seen your pictures in the Barbados carnaval. You acted like a Bonobo. And yes, I am a white chick, but believe me, I don’t want you as a role model: you are too much like your father.
No, Vogue, Rihanna DOESN”T “rock”. She never has and never will. All she can do is strip and sneer, she is a poser who can’t sing a note.
ps. Her legs are really unbecoming. And, please? Now she’s Marilyn? BWAH! Looks like the stylist’s joke is on Rihanna.
hahahaHAHAAAA! Just read some more of the quotes. She sure is a dim bulb!
Her love for Stella Mac and C Kane designs explains why she looks like she raided the sesame street wardrobe discards. Her taste may fly in the limited background of her island upbringing, but world class, she is not.
If she really wants us to believe she “just wants to make music,” she needs to learn how to sing, write good songs, and take her posterior off the camera lens.
if she hates “white people” so much (as she put it) she might wanna take that FUGLY blonde wig off and while she’s at it stop making emo music and i’m pretty sure the majority of her fanbase is WHITE
and just because she go around grinding on guys and stimalting sex acts on stage
don’t mean all black people do as she is clearly trying to suggest-that is offensive to BOTH races
ignorant racist bitch