BY: Denver Sean
Published 9 years ago
Rihanna opened up in an intimate interview with The New York Times ‘T’ magazine in which she talked about what turns her on, her phobias, googling childbirth, and racism.
When speaking on race and racism, she touched on her experiences dealing with race in the U.S. after moving to New York from Barbados.
“You know, when I started to experience the difference — or even have my race be highlighted — it was mostly when I would do business deals,” said Rihanna. “And, you know, that never ends, by the way. It’s still a thing.”
She continued,
“[I]t’s the thing that makes me want to prove people wrong. It almost excites me; I know what they’re expecting, and I can’t wait to show them that I’m here to exceed those expectations. But I have to bear in mind that…people are judging you because you’re packaged a certain way — they’ve been programmed to think a black man in a hoodie means grab your purse a little tighter. For me, it comes down to smaller issues, scenarios in which people can assume something of me without knowing me, just by my packaging.”
To read the interview in full and to find out more on why T magazine named Rih one of ‘The Greats,’ click here.