During a ceremony in the singer’s birthplace of Bridgetown, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley referenced Rihanna’s 2012 song ‘Diamonds’ to applause. “May you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honor to your nation,” the prime minister declared.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty – who goes by the stage name Rihanna – is the second woman in Barbados history to be given the honor of National Hero after religious leader Sarah Ann Gill, who died in 1866. Rihanna is also only one of two living Barbados National Heroes, with the other being 85-year-old cricketeer Sir Garfield Sobers, who received the title in 1998.
As National Hero of Barbados, Rihanna receives the full title of The Right Excellent Robyn Rihanna Fenty for life.
The ceremony took place just after Barbados became a republic and ousted Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. Her Majesty was replaced by Dame Sandra Mason, who was sworn in as the first president of Barbados on midnight, Tuesday in a ceremony attended by Prince Charles.
Though Rihanna’s music career took off in the United States, she was born and raised in the Barbados parish of St. Michael, where she was discovered by American music industry producers.
Before being made National Hero of Barbados, Rihanna served as a Barbadian ambassador since September 2018.
© 2021, paradox. All rights reserved.
State troopers used pepper spray and stun grenades as they arrested dozens of pro-Palestine protesters…
The number and frequency of Ukrainian soldiers receiving training in US bases in Western Europe has dropped…
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has insisted that member states don’t want their citizens…
Resistance to the continued military draft in Ukraine has taken some extreme forms, a soldier…
The Russian military has carried out several strikes that destroyed Ukrainian warehouses storing attack drones,…
France must open a debate on building up a pan-European defense capability, to include rethinking…