Rachel Dolezal got called plenty of names earlier this year.

The Spokane, Wash., resident resigned as head of the local NAACP branch in June after her ethnicity came into question. Dolezal’s parents, who are white, said their daughter had been lying about being black for some time. Dolezal became a punching bag for late night comics and lost her gig as a part-time instructor in African studies.

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To pop sensation Rihanna, though, Dolezal is a “bit of a hero.”

I think she legit changed people’s perspective a bit and woke people up.

Rihanna made the statement in a new Vanity Fair interview for the publication’s November issue.

“I think she was a bit of a hero, because she kind of flipped on society a little bit. 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.”

Dolezal insists she identifies as a black woman and didn’t deceive anyone on the issue. She also contends that while Larry and Ruthanne Dolezal did raise her, she isn’t certain they are her biological parents.

Some other elements of her alleged biography were called into question by other members of her family. Her adopted brother Ezra Dolezal, who is black, said her story of being born in a teepee isn’t true.

Dolezal did attend Howard University, a historically black college, but ended up suing the institution for discrimination. She claimed university officials removed some of her artwork from public display in order to give the space over to black students.