Rihanna has praised journalist Abby Aguirre, the writer who interviewed the singer for her latest Vogue cover story.
Soon after the text was published, Aguirre was criticised after admitting that she went into the interview without preparing any questions for Rihanna, 31.
“Normally I bring a list of questions, but I didn’t have time to prepare one, which I make a split-second decision to confess. “I’m winging it, so you have to help me,” I say nervously,” the story reads.
“Rihanna flashes a grin that is somehow both reassuring and mischievous. “Aren’t we all?” she says.” However, not everyone shared Rihanna’s initial light-hearted response.
Following the backlash, Aguirre tweeted that she “literally had no notice” before the interview, and claims she didn’t have time to prepare any questions.
“I research my subjects to death. *Especially* Rihanna. I appreciate the anger behind the reaction. But this is a misunderstanding, for which I take full responsibility,” she wrote.
“The point was to convey how nerve-wracking this was, given my deep, bordering-on-psychotic reverence for Rihanna.”
Speaking to WWD at the launch of her new self-titled coffee table book, the musician and fashion mogul spoke out in defence of Aguirre and hailed her a “gangster.”
“Wait, wait, what?” Rihanna said. “No, no, no, no. That’s gangster. For you to get a call the day before being like, ‘Hey, Rihanna’s in L.A., you wanna do this?’ And show up on the dime and write an incredible article that I’m really proud of and enjoyed reading? She’s badass for that.” Capital Xtra reports.
She added, “If you don’t have to prepare, girl, you’re gangster.”
Rihanna’s new visual autobiography features never-before-seen photographs from her childhood, her tours and most iconic fashion moments.
