It's no secret that Rihanna has a powerful connection with her Navy, especially the die-hard fans who have been down with her from day one. Recently, the singer went way beyond a casual shout-out or backstage invite for one of her stans, and has been helping with the individual to come out of the closet.
BuzzFeed got their hands on a series of DMs between Rihanna and an anonymous fan, identified only as a Black gay male, and the exchange reveals that the "Work" singer has been quietly supporting the fan as he slowly came out to friends and family and embraced his identity.
“Baby it’s okay to be scared but it’s more important to be who you are!” Rihanna wrote. “You are who you are, and as hard as it may seem, the best sh*t ever is freedom and peace within yourself! Your family may not understand, but luckily you live in a generation that does!!”
This wasn't a one-off message of support, either. Rihanna and the fan exchanged messages over the course of a whole month, with RiRi consistently following up and encouraging the fan as he came out to more and more people. He says he hopes to be fully out to the rest of his loved ones by July, when he’ll be attending Rihanna’s ANTI tour and meeting the megastar in person.

“Thank YOU for being honest!!” Rihanna messaged him in the final screenshot. “I’m so happy you’re getting what you deserve! I’ll be forever supporting you, you were here from day 1.”
Finally, a story of leaked DMs with a happy ending. 
For more stories about the LGBT community, watch BET.com and Clay Cane's GLAAD Award-nominated documentary, Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay in the Church, below. And remember, you can catch Holler If You Hear Me in Puerto Rico on Memorial Day Weekend — click here for more info.

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