Rihanna Poses For 'Vanity Fair' In Cuba: Talks Past With Chris Brown, Defends Rachel Dolezal

Rihanna discussed her tumultuous relationship with Chris Brown in a new interview for Vanity Fair in a Cuba-set photo shoot, and admits she’ll care about the singer forever, "I was that girl, that girl who felt that as much pain as this relationship is, maybe some people are built stronger than others. Maybe I’m one of those people built to handle s--t like this. Maybe I’m the person who’s almost the guardian angel to this person, to be there when they’re not strong enough, when they’re not understanding the world, when they just need someone to encourage them in a positive way and say the right thing."

The star continued by saying that she thought she could change him, “A hundred percent. I was very protective of him. I felt that people didn’t understand him. Even after … But you know, you realize after a while that in that situation you’re the enemy. You want the best for them, but if you remind them of their failures, or if you remind them of bad moments in their life, or even if you say I’m willing to put up with something, they think less of you—because they know you don’t deserve what they’re going to give."

Rihanna was attacked by Chris Brown inside his Lamborghini the night before the 2009 Grammys, with photos of her bruised and swollen face subsequently leaked to TMZ,"and if you put up with it, maybe you are agreeing that you [deserve] this, and that’s when I finally had to say, ‘Uh-oh, I was stupid thinking I was built for this.’ Sometimes you just have to walk away. I don’t hate him. I will care about him until the day I die. We’re not friends, but it’s not like we’re enemies. We don’t have much of a relationship now,” Riri told VF.

She also shared her feelings on Rachel Dolezal, the former NAACP chapter leader accused of lying about her race, “Is it such a horrible thing that she pretended to be black? Black is a great thing, and I think she legit changed people’s perspective a bit and woke people up.” The beauty is featured on the cover of the November 2015 issue of Vanity Fair with several photos taken by world-renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz.