Rihanna Says She Became an Activist Because the Number of Teens with Hiv Was “shocking”

Rihanna is sending out an “SOS” about HIV for her fans. MAC Cosmetics in an awareness campaign that is designed to educate young people about the virus. As part of this campaign, Rihanna walked the red carpet at a recent Hollywood screening of It’s Not Over, a new documentary by Andrew Jenks about three young people living with HIV in different parts of the world, which is now streaming on Netflix.The “Umbrella” singer has partnered with
The subjects are Paige, an American teenage girl born with the virus who raises awareness of HIV issues in schools throughout the country; Sarang, a gay playwright from India who is staging a production in support of same-sex marriage; and Lucky, an educator from South Africa who is trying to prevent other young people from making poor life decisions.

Standing alongside these extraordinary youngpeople, Rihanna told us that it was the statistics about HIV infection that shocked her into getting involved: right now young people between the ages of 13 and 24 account for 26 percent of all new infections in the U.S., according to a 2010 CDC report.

“That’s younger than I am!” the 26-year-old singer exclaimed. “That’s how real that is. And people don’t know that, especially young people…and I think the only way to stop it is to have people know what’s going on.”

The musical superstar also cited her concern for the welfare of the youth as the primary motivator for her HIV activism. In addition to promoting the film, the pop icon has also launched a makeup line with Viva Glam, where 100 percent of the profits go towards helping people affected by HIV.

“I am very close with my fans, and when MAC approached me about this, I got a whole lot of information… a lot of heartbreaking real statistics that I didn’t know,” Rihanna said. “They were very shocking for me, and it’s something that I felt was important for me to get the word out, to spread the word, to educate young people, educate my fans on a matter that’s really killing us and killing the youth.”

The “Diamonds” singer is following in the footsteps of one of her role models, late actress and advocate Elizabeth Taylor, who co-founded amfAR, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, and other HIV organizations. In fact, at the 2014 amfAR LA Inspiration Gala, Rihanna bid $100,000 on a photograph of Taylor, which was signed by artist Willy Rizzo.

“Everybody loves Elizabeth Taylor!” Rihanna said. “She’s very glamorous. She’s the best that’s ever done it. But it was for a good cause. I didn’t mind spending every penny on it, because it all went to charity.”

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