In another blaring reminder that the world is a cruel and unfair place, allow us to introduce you to the 22-year-old Boston woman who says she makes upwards of $20,000 from companies to endorse their products … because she looks like Rihanna. (FYI: Neither one of the pictures above are of Rihanna.)
Andele Lara says people started to notice her striking (but not total) resemblance to the Bajan Pop star, when Rihanna was on her way to becoming a household name.
As Rihanna got popular, Adele did too, and before she knew it, she was being mobbed at the mall and stopped in the streets to take photos with fans who really thought she was Rihanna.
According to the Daily Mail, strangers actually follow this girl all the way to work and send her fan mail, and now, she says she wouldn’t mind living life as a full-time Rihanna lookalike.
“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. I know I could happily give up my part-time job and studies to have a career as a Rihanna lookalike.
“Literally, people mistake me for her all the time! I only have to step out of the house for an hour before I hear someone say, ‘Oh my god, is that Rihanna?’ At first, I thought it was funny to take a picture with someone who believed I was her and then make their day. But as Rihanna gets even more famous, the attention just intensifies.
“Some people follow me into stores or as I’m driving. Other times fifteen people will swarm at me all at once to take a picture with me. I do think the attention I get is cool but there have been some scary occasions when some super-fans have followed me on my way to work everyday. And I must admit there have also been moments when I couldn’t face taking a photo with yet another Rihanna fan. But it really makes their day to think they met Ri-Ri. I’ve never denied anyone a picture.”
Andele says she gets even more attention when she’s out clubbing. Guys at the bar buy her drinks because they think she’s Rihanna, and one time when she “happened” to be at the same club Chris Brown was at, people really thought she was Rihanna, because why not?
“When I go on a night out, that’s when the attention is at its highest. Even my friends get annoyed by the number of people that come up to me. Men come up to me all the time, thinking I’m Rihanna and buying me drinks! They chat me up and try to get my number.
“I was at a club in Boston and Chris Brown was there. Because he was there, I guess everyone assumed I was Rihanna! I was casually walking around and all these star-struck people were holding their hand to their hearts backing away from me and staring.
“At first, I was confused but then I realized what was going on. In the end, I spent the whole night taking fun pictures with groups of people who had mistaken me for Rihanna.”
Because she looks like Rihanna, Andele says she has nearly 20K Instagram followers and her endorsements range from hair contracts to sneaker deals. She says also gets into clubs for free and scores a lot of free drinks too. And Rihanna has even come across one of her photos!
“I wouldn’t really say I’ve gone out looking for opportunities, they’ve just come along naturally. I reckon if I put more effort, I would get even more! I’ve scored hair contracts as well as sneaker, mascara, hair accessories and apparel deals. I also get into clubs for free and I get a lot of free drinks too!
“I am grateful for my followers and I love the chance to give them advice. I get tons of fan-mail and messages from people. 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.
“One Rihanna fan page on Instagram mistakenly posted my picture with the caption, ‘Rare pic of Rihanna’ and Rihanna actually commented on it with ‘OH?!’ But that was the closest I’d say to her knowing me. It was a brief moment but the comments and followers on my Instagram that came after that was unbelievable.
“Every time I refreshed my page, I had at least thirty new followers and some really hateful comments too. In the end, the attention and mean comments from some users was a bit too much. I had to turn my notifications off on Instagram and make my account private.”
“I’m a big fan of Rihanna though. A lot of celebrities become someone they aren’t but she seems to have stayed true to herself. I would love to meet Ri-Ri and take a selfie with her!”
h/t: The Smoking Section via Daily Mail
