Rihanna Accepts Harvard’s Humanitarian Award: ‘So, I Made It to Harvard’ (Video)
The singer has founded multiple charities and scholarship programs, in addition to serving as an ambassador for UNICEF’s Tap Project
Beatrice Verhoeven | March 1, 2017 @ 7:43 AM
Last Updated: March 1, 2017 @ 7:45 AM
On Tuesday, Rihanna accepted the Harvard Foundation award for Humanitarian of the Year.
According to the Washington Post, Harvard College dean Rakesh Khurana told Rihanna that she had empowered children to “shine bright like a diamond” and inspired students to “work work work.”
“The pop star and fashion icon we all know as Rihanna has headlined award shows, fashion magazines and bejeweled flask memes,” one student said on stage, referring to the singer bringing a flask to the 2017 Grammys. “Today we are writing a different headline, and that’s Rihanna the humanitarian.”
“So I made it to Harvard,” the singer said with a grin before flipping her hair. “Never thought I’d be able to say that in my life.”
She continued to talk about her childhood and said that her drive to help others began when she was a young girl living in Barbados and would see commercials showing kids suffering around the world. Rihanna wondered how many 25 cents she would need to “save all the kids in Africa.”
“I would say to myself, ‘When I grow up, and I can get rich, I’m gonna save kids all over the world,'” Rihanna said. “I just didn’t know I would be in the position to do that by the time I was a teenager.”
At 18, she started her first charity to aid critically ill children, she said. Six years later, in 2012, she started the Clara Lionel Foundation, through which she purchased radiotherapy equipment for the oncology unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados. She has served as an ambassador to the UNICEF Tap Project and the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen Project.
And in 2016, Rihanna started a global scholarship program which helps people in Barbados, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Guyana, Jamaica and the United States go to college.
“People make it seem way too hard, man,” Rihanna said. “The truth is, and what that little girl watching those commercials didn’t know, is that you don’t have to be rich to be a humanitarian. You don’t have to be rich to help somebody. You don’t gotta be famous. You don’t even have to be college-educated … I mean I wish I was … especially today … I might come back.”
Interrupted by cheers, she continued, “But it starts with your neighbor, the person right next to you. You just do whatever you can to help in any way that you can.”
13 People Azealia Banks Has Had Beefs With, From Rihanna and Lady Gaga to Russell Crowe (Photos)
Rihanna is the most recent celebrity to get caught in the crosshairs of Azealia Banks' rage, but she is far from the first to fire up the rapper's rage.
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Rihanna Azealia Banks, who is known to be a supporter of Donald Trump, wasn't at all pleased with celebrities bashing his Muslim travel ban -- especially Rihanna. She called out Rihanna for her comments and went on to post the R&B singer's phone number on her social media page -- to which she retaliated with a screenshot of a text message Banks allegedly sent, accusing her of having a “drug and sex addiction.”
Iggy Azalea This feud started in 2012, when Banks called out XXL magazine for placing Iggy on its "Freshman" cover after she spit lyrics like "runway slave master" in one of her tracks. In 2014, Banks called out Iggy for being quick to appropriate black culture while staying silent went it comes to black issues -- like the police shooting of Mike Brown. She also called her "Igloo Australia."
Iggy hit back with a Twitter rant, calling Banks "poisonous" and blaming her lack of success on her "piss poor attitude."
T.I. and Tiny Azealia's beef with T.I. started as a result of him coming to Iggy's defense. The two went back and forth for a little bit and things appeared to have simmered down ... until Tip released his single "No Mediocre," which caused Banks to come after him and his wife calling her "meth face" and a "busted bumpkin."
Zayn Malik This one all started when the rapper thought one of Zayn's music videos was a rip off of her own. “Damn Zayn be mood boarding the f--- of out me,” she wrote with a collage of images from both videos. “I’m not mad about this though. Zayn is a cutie pie.” Her attitude quickly changed when Zayn tweeted vague messages that Banks assumed were about her ... to which she responded with homophobic slurs directed at Zayn.
Skai Jackson The Disney star got caught in the crosshairs of Banks' feud with Malik when she tweeted that the former needed to "simmer down a little." Once the rapper caught wind of Jackson's tweet she replied "and you need to grow some hips and start ur menses. stay in a child’s place." Jackson then responded with “When a no hip having 14 year old has more class than you. Worry about your career. Get one." OUCH.
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Russell Crowe Banks accused Russell Crowe of hurling racist slurs and attacking her while kicking her out of his Beverly Hills Hotel suite. Witnesses, however, said Banks was the one who was being erratic and threatened Crowe with violence before he picked her up in a bear hug and escorted her out of the suite.
Sarah Palin The rapper went off on the former vice presidential candidate after misunderstanding an article she read where Palin was quoted as saying that black people willfully accepted slavery. It resulted in the rapper going on a social media tirade where she suggested, “Let’s find the biggest burliest black negroes and let them run a train on her.” Banks later went on to apologize to Palin for any emotional distress she may have caused.
Kendrick Lamar Azealia criticized the "To Pimp a Butterfly" artist for his comments regarding the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Lamar essentially told Billboard that if black people don't respect themselves how can they expect others to have respect for them which didn't make Banks happy at all. "HOW DARE YOU open ur face to a white publication and tell them that we don't respect ourselves.... Speak for your f---ing self," tweeted Banks amongst other things.
Lady Gaga Azealia came for Lady Gaga when the latter decided to dress up like a mermaid -- because that was the rapper's "thing." Although Azealia tweeted that she wasn't trying to pick a fight, her messages suggested that Gaga was stealing her style. About a month later, Banks accused Gaga of stealing "Red Flame," which she claims the latter got from a demo she had sent her.
Flight Attendant Banks was attempting to disembark the plane by pushing past a couple, but the man put his hand, the witness said, at which point Banks flipped out, spitting in his face and punching him. A flight attendant attempted to calm her down, but she called hurled a homophobic slur at him.
Rita Ora This feud started because, once again, Banks thought someone was stealing her style. Rita Ora posted a photo of herself in jelly shoes to which Azealia retaliated by saying she already did the whole jelly shoes thing "last year." Banks also accused the singer of being "thirsty" and called her "Rihanna's understudy."
Kreayshawn Fellow rapper Kreayshawn retweeted a Pornhub link that included Banks' lyrics from "212." Azealia thought Kreayshawn was trying to insult her and retaliated by calling the rapper a "dumb b----" and a "s---." Banks later apologized.
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A$AP Rocky In an interview with The Coveteur, A$AP Rocky stated that he didn't understand why girls wore purple lipstick and that it looked stupid. Banks took that as a direct insult as she's known to always wear purple lipstick and tweeted messages that insinuated that Rocky should just come out of the closet already.
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Here are just a few of the singer-songwriter’s many, many, many feuds
Rihanna is the most recent celebrity to get caught in the crosshairs of Azealia Banks' rage, but she is far from the first to fire up the rapper's rage.
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