Here’s a photo of Rihanna in NYC this week. She made pink stirrup pants look fierce, right? I already raved about Rih’s new Dior gig, and she spoke with MTV about her excitement: “It is such a big deal for me, for my culture, for a lot of young girls of any color. I think to be acknowledged by Dior means a lot, as a woman, to feel beautiful — to feel elegant and timeless.” You can see a first glimpse of Rih’s Dior campaign here.

Rihanna spoke with some Aussie news stations to promote her voice work in Home. She plays a young girl, Tip, who befriends an alien (voiced by Jim Parsons). RiRi covers many subjects but brushes off those Leonardo DiCaprio hookup rumors. FWIW, Leo had his rep deny the romance a few weeks ago, which is interesting. He never denied any of the zillion rumors about his revolving door of supermodels. Rih doesn’t slam Leo. She talks about what she’s learned from her real relationships:

These Leo rumors: “Stay off the blogs, they will screw you every time.”

Her ideal man: “Someone who could tolerate my schedule; someone man enough to do that and not get scared because I don’t have a lot of time to offer. Tt home I’m pretty boring. I just lay on the couch and watch TV.”

Her relationship lessons: “The more we respect ourselves the more men will respect us. I have both sides to me and I think most women do. We are strong but they are very vulnerable as well. For me, I get very fierce and passionate about my career and about my family. But there are also things that make me become a little girl. Like, I love balloons, that definitely really brings out the little girl in me.”

Home‘s message to girls: “I think women are way stronger than they know, or sometimes they do know but they don’t always feel like being strong. Sometimes, you’re like, ‘Can I get a pass?’ And also, Tip is so bold. And the way she dresses and how she wears her hair is not perfect and I feel like little girls should feel comfortable being that way, being strong and being themselves.”

Her style: “I feel like my image evolves as I evolve as a woman. With growth, there’s change. My style is a reflection of my mood, my attitude wherever I am at, and you can see how it’s evolved since the beginning of my career just from my videos. And style is a huge part of that attitude.”

Fitness & diet: I’m getting better with my training now that it’s album time and video time, so it’s time to get fit, get tight. I eat tons of mac and cheese, I really do. I hate vegetables but I’m learning to incorporate them, one by one into my diet.”

[From News.com.au]

People could interpret the self-respect quote many different ways. What do you think? I believe she’s talking about Chris Brown. People give her grief for dating him more than once, but she’s been free and clear for a few years. Anyone who’s been in an abusive relationship can recognize that milestone. I don’t think she’s talking about self respect as a prerequisite to being treated well. More like Rihanna knows what she deserves, and she’s no longer afraid to walk away from a bad man.

What else? Rihanna told People her biggest fear in the world is childbirth. She and Jim Parsons have also been cute together during this press tour. Jim told Jimmy Fallon that he can’t stop singing Rih’s songs every time they’re in the same room: “She’ll look at me and go ‘That gives me chills. And not in a good way.’” That sounds exactly like her.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN