Rihanna Defends Writer Who Showed Up Without Questions to Her 'Vogue' Interview: It's 'Gangster'

Rihanna is defending a Vogue writer who received backlash after she said she didn’t come prepared to her interview with the musician.

In Rihanna‘s Vogue cover story, which was published last week, writer Abby Aguirre says that she showed up to her interview with the 31-year-old singer without a list of questions, later claiming that she found out about the interview last minute.

“Normally I bring a list of questions, but I didn’t have time to prepare one, which I make a split-second decision to confess,” Aguirre writes in the profile. “‘I’m winging it, so you have to help me,’ I say nervously. Rihanna flashes a grin that is somehow both reassuring and mischievous. ‘Aren’t we all?’ she says.”

After the story was published, many on social media criticized Aguirre for her unpreparedness. When asked about the backlash at a celebration for her new coffee table book on Friday, Rihanna reportedly defended Aguirre.

“Wait, wait, what?” Rihanna said, according to WWD. “No, no, no, no. That’s gangster. For you to get a call the day before being like, ‘Hey, Rihanna’s in L.A., you wanna do this?’ And show up on the dime and write an incredible article that I’m really proud of and enjoyed reading? She’s badass for that.”

“If you don’t have to prepare, girl, you’re gangster,” she added.

Aguirre previously defended herself on Twitter, writing, “GUYS. I was driving to Trader Joe’s in sweatpants when I got the call and literally had to flip a bitch. I research my subjects to death. *Especially* Rihanna. I appreciate the anger behind the reaction. But this is a misunderstanding, for which I take full responsibility.”

“I had literally no notice,” she added. “The point was to convey how nerve-wracking this was, given my deep, bordering-on-psychotic reverence for Rihanna.”

Aguirre continued: “If you had accused me of eating too much Mexican food, I would take that personally. Because it’s true. But you can’t accuse me of not doing research. Ask anyone I have ever worked with. Ever.”

In her Vogue cover story, Rihanna confirmed rumors that she had turned down the opportunity to sing at next year’s Super Bowl halftime show, and opened up about her highly anticipated upcoming album.

“I like to look at it as a reggae-inspired or reggae-infused album,” the “Work” hitmaker said. “It’s not gonna be typical of what you know as reggae. But you’re going to feel the elements in all of the tracks … Reggae always feels right to me. It’s in my blood.”

“It doesn’t matter how far or long removed I am from that culture, or my environment that I grew up in; it never leaves,” she added. “It’s always the same high. Even though I’ve explored other genres of music, it was time to go back to something that I haven’t really homed in on completely for a body of work.”