Rihanna Slayed While Accepting Her Humanitarian Award at Harvard
Last night, Rihanna accepted her well-deserved Humanitarian of the Year Award at Harvard University in classic BadGal RiRi fashion-with attitude, inimitable style and grace. After being honored for her philanthropy in fields like education, breast cancer research and female empowerment around the world, the singer accepted her plaque and delivered a speech in an unexpectedly chic tweed-on-tweed look.
The dress, by Monse, featured an off-the-shoulder neckline, wide belt and thigh-high slit. The singer's choice of footwear was a pair of over-the-knee boots in the same gray print.
When she took the podium, Rihanna did not hold back her excitement. "So I made it to Harvard," she began, with a hair flip and load of sass that deserve their own award.
Seriously, look at her facial expressions.
Jokes aside, the singer went on to explain how she was inspired to pursue charity work:
"When I was five or six years old, I remember watching TV and I would see these commercials and I was watching other children suffer in other parts of the world and you know the commercials were [like], "You can give 25 cents, save a child's life,' you know? And I would think to myself like, I wonder how many 25 cents I could save up to save all the kids in Africa. And I would say to myself you know, 'When I grow up, when I can get rich, I'mma save kids all over the world.' I just didn't know I would be in the position to do that by the time I was a teenager."
The singer recalled starting her first charity organization when she was 18 years old, just one year after her music career broke out in the United States. After teaming up with other interest groups throughout her career, she established the Clara Lionel Foundation in honor of her grandmother, who passed away from cancer, to support children pursuing education around the world. (It was also recently announced that a portion of proceeds from Dior's "We Should All Be Feminists" t-shirt will be donated to Rihanna's foundation.)
To top off the night, Rihanna also received an adorable thank you from a young boy who presented her with flowers on stage. "We thank you for your compassion, your philanthropy to help others in need and your wonderful music," he said. Rihanna obviously lost it and gave him a hug.
You Might Also Like