Rihanna Responded When She Was Called Out For Using "Spirit Animal"

Source: Han Myung-Gu / Getty

Humans are imperfect beings. We know this but it bears repeating…often. For ourselves when we fall short and for celebrities who have the misfortune of living out their lives, the good, bad and ugly, in the public eye.

We all watch with baited breath as they flounder and flourish. And if there’s a pattern I’ve noticed it’s that celebrities don’t always take kindly to being informed of their mistakes. It’s natural. Mostly because these are strangers, sometimes hundreds or thousands of them telling you how you’re a horrible person.

But occasionally, there are those who take the well-meaning, well-intentioned, righteous words of fans and followers to heart.

That happened this weekend with singer turned mogul Rihanna.

It began when Rihanna shared this picture with a caption that was a bit offensive.

Someone in her comments challenged her use of the phrase. Rihanna saw the comment and responded maturely.

This is not the first time a celebrity has been taken to task over using this phrase. In 2015, Kerry Washington was educated on the problematic use of the phrase after she tweeted this:

Several people told her that it was disrespectful to indigenous communities who did not use the term lightly. She also handled the correction well.

Thankfully, the word is getting out there. When someone called singer Lizzo their “spirit animal,” she graciously accepted the compliment but took the opportunity to let the person know that using the term was offensive.