LOS ANGELES – Rihanna loves the 'c-word'.
The 'S&M' hitmaker freely used the highly offensive word as people in her native Barbados frequently say it, but she took it out of her vocabulary after her make-up artist told her how rude it was.
Rihanna - who was photographed last month wearing a gold necklace with the swear word engraved on it on a night out in Santa Monica, California - said: "It's funny. The word is so offensive to everyone in the world except for Bajans.
"You know African Americans use the n-word to their brothers? Well that's the way we use the c-word. When I first came here, I was saying it like it was nothing, like, 'Hey ****', until my make-up artist finally had to tell me to stop. I just never knew."
Despite her worldwide fame and millions of fame, the 23-year-old pop star insists she does not consider herself a role model, but accepts people do expect her to be.
In an interview with the UK edition of Vogue magazine, she added: "See, people - especially white people - they want me to be a role model just because of the life I lead. The things I say in my songs, they expect it of me and being a role model became more of my job than I wanted it to be. But no, I just want to make music. That's it.
"Look, God doesn't give any more than you can handle. I had to get through a lot of ups and downs - big downs - and a lot of trial and error to get where I am now."
Rihanna is not the only star to like the 'c-word' - Natalie Portman once gave fellow actress Julia Roberts a necklace bearing the term.
Director Mike Nichols, who worked with the pair on 'Closer', said: "On the first day of shooting, after a couple of weeks rehearsing, Natalie bought Julia a little silver necklace with a word spelled out in the middle. The word was ****.
"Julia was enchanted and said it was the sweetest present she'd ever had."
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