Why Haven’t We Realised How Similar Rihanna And Princess Diana Are?

Rihanna is single-handedly saving the magazine industry. For the month of December, our favourite Bad Gal is on the cover of not just one, but seven magazine covers: there are four different versions for Dazed, and three different ones for Vogue Paris, the latter which she guest edited. Part of Rih’s duties for Vogue included sharing her inspirations, and according to WWD, the singer named Whitney Houston, Elizabeth Taylor, Mariah Carey, Patricia Field, her mother Robin Fenty, and Princess Diana.

Specifically, Rihanna shared the moment she fell in love with the people’s princess, telling the French publication, “Every time a man cheats on you or treats you badly, you need a revenge dress,” of the photograph of Diana in the black Christina Stambolian. The princess was photographed wearing the dress to a gallery party after Prince Charles admitted to the world he cheated on Diana in a televised interview.

Rihanna continued, saying: “Every woman knows that. But whether her choice of this knockdown dress was conscious or not, I am touched by the idea that even Princess Diana could suffer like any ordinary woman. This Diana Bad Bitch moment blew me away.” And honestly, what’s more mind-boggling is how similar Princess Diana and Rihanna are, being cheated on aside.

Princess Diana was such a humanitarian, often championing social causes, not unlike Rihanna who routinely gets on Twitter to take world leaders to task. And just like Rihanna, Princess Diana used her appearance to support designers that she believed in. Back in November 2013, she told Glamour: “You know who is the best whoever did it? Princess Diana. She was like—she killed it. Every look was right. She was gangsta with her clothes. She had these crazy hats. She got oversize jackets. I loved everything she wore!”

The Bajan beauty paid tribute to Diana in the best way she knew how in April 2016, when she paired a commemorative T-shirt displaying the princess’s face with her Manolo Blahnik thigh-high boots and leather jacket — giving her a bad bitch moment of her own.