When Rihanna disappeared from Instagram for six months , we went through the stages of a bad breakup — denial, anger, depression, but never acceptance — because we needed our
badgal fix.
And, apparently, some people wanted their Rih so badly, that they were binging on the account
of a young woman who looks like the Bajan superstar.
Meet 22-year-old Andele Lara (@andelelara ), from Boston, Massachusetts — a student who
can’t spend a night out on the town without being mobbed by fans (and drooling men) who keep mistaking her for Rihanna.
Lara told the Daily Mail that as a child she was referred to as the “skinny girl with the big forehead” (I’ve been there girl), but now she’s
being paid big money for endorsements, just because she bears resemblances to the Unapologetic singer.
‘After Rihanna was banned from Instagram in April, some of her fans have written to me saying that my profile had replaced hers in their lives,” she said.
“The moment I step out anywhere, everyone starts staring and whispering before I get bombarded by strangers asking to take their photo with me. This happens every day – It doesn’t matter what I do. I can’t go twenty-four hours without hearing Rihanna’s name.”
Unfortunately Lara hasn’t had a chance to meet Rihanna yet, but she sort of had an encounter
with the star. When one fan mistakenly posted an Instagram photo of Lara with the caption,
“Rare pic of Rihanna,” the pop star saw the photo and wrote back, “OH?!”
Of course this set off a firestorm. Lara gained a ton of new followers, but she was also subjected to some pretty harsh comments which prompted her to make her account private.
‘That was the closest I’d say to her knowing me,” Lara said. “It was a brief moment but the comments and followers on my Instagram that came after that was unbelievable.”