Can Postcolonialism and Neoliberalism reveal all? - Understanding Celebrity Humanitarianism through a Case Study on Rihanna and Fenty Beauty Nina ...
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Can Postcolonialism and Neoliberalism
reveal all?
Understanding Celebrity Humanitarianism through a Case
Study on Rihanna and Fenty Beauty
Nina Huovinen
Communica on for Development
One-year master
15 Credits
Fall 2020
Supervisor: Tobias Denskus
tiTo my biggest fans - my grandparents.
Kiitos for the endless support.Abstract Celebrity humanitarianism has become a notable field of research within Communication for Development. Largely built around case studies of individual celebrities engaging in the development and humanitarian fields, mostly postcolonial and neoliberal critique has been put forth regarding the effects of such engagements. These critiques at times go to the extent of suggesting that celebrity humanitarians might be doing more harm than good by for example shifting the focus away from underlying structures. As the field of study often provides more critique than constructive suggestions, this study is built as a deductive case study aiming to test the extent to which current prominent theoretical frameworks are able to understand celebrity humanitarianism when a celebrity humanitarian is studied as a more comprehensive construct. The focus of the case study is the Barbadian singer Rihanna and her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty. The dominant theories are challenged with including a business aspect of the celebrity’s ‘ecosystem’ and by examining such aspect through a Corporate Social Responsibility lens. Key words: Celebrity humanitarianism, theory testing, case study, Rihanna, Fenty Beauty, Corporate Social Responsibility
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Relevance of the Study 2
1.2 Aim and Research Questions 3
1.3 Outline of the thesis 5
2. Background 7
3. Literature Review 9
3.1 Celebrity Humanitarianism 10
3.1.1 ‘Distant others’, Power, and Postcolonialism 11
3.1.2 Privatization of Development, Agency of Aid Recipients, and Neoliberal
Critique 13
3.2 Communication for Development and Corporate Social Responsibility 15
4. Methodology 19
4.1 Case study 19
4.1.1 Textual and Discourse Analysis 20
4.1.2 Qualitative Document Analysis 21
4.2 Data Collection 21
4.3 Validity, reliability, and generalizability 23
4.4 Limitations and delimitations 24
5. Results 25
5.1 Rihanna the Celebrity Humanitarian 25
5.1.1 Award Acceptance Speeches 25
5.1.2 Interviews 26
5.1.3 Impact Videos 26
5.2 CSR in the Fenty Empire 27
5.2.1 Supply Chain Transparency and Global Impact at Fenty Beauty 27
5.2.2 Social Responsibility Reports by LVMH 27
6. Analysis 28
6.1 Rihanna the Celebrity Humanitarian Unveiled 28
6.1.1 Understanding the discourse of Rihanna the Philanthropist 31
6.2 Corporate Social Responsibility at Fenty Beauty 32
6.3 The Clash of Philanthropy and Business? 33
7. Conclusion 36
Bibliography 391. Introduction
Over the course of my Masters studies in Communication for Development, I have
developed a keen interest in celebrity humanitarianism and philanthropy, most recently
during the spring of 2020. In particular, I found that the vast majority of research portrayed
celebrity philanthropy in an overwhelmingly negative light (i.e. Brockington 2014 a & b,
2016, Kapoor 2013). Despite the varying levels of wealth and power often held by
celebrities, very few scholars acknowledged any positive effects or potential in celebrity
philanthropy. Therefore, my original motivation can be seen as looking to explore the
positive impact celebrity philanthropy can have towards humanitarian activities, and
ultimately arguing for a more holistic approach to celebrities. Therefore, this study is built
as a deductive case study aiming to test the extent to which current prominent theoretical
frameworks are able to understand celebrity humanitarianism when a celebrity
philanthropist is analyzed as a more comprehensive construct, in this case including their
social and economic impact.
Perhaps partially influenced by my exchange studies in Barbados in 2016, I instinctively
thought of Rihanna as a prime example of a celebrity who could provide for a more
complex case study for this research. Robyn Rihanna Fenty, globally known as Rihanna,
was born on the Caribbean island of Barbados on 20 February 1988. She is a world
renowned, award-winning singer and Hollywood actress. In addition to her career as a
singer and an actress, Rihanna is also a businesswoman and a founder of two charitable
foundations. In 2019 she claimed the status of world’s richest female musician, above the
likes of Madonna, Céline Dion and Beyoncé (Robehmed 2019, Pagano & Kim 2019).
Using her wealth and international fame, Rihanna has also extended her influence into the
fields of development and humanitarianism through building partnerships with multiple
causes and organizations (i.e. UNICEF, Global Citizen), as well as starting her own non-
profit foundations. Additionally, her business brands, carrying different variations of her last
name ‘Fenty’, have been widely praised for their inclusiveness and diversity (i.e. Rueckert
2017, Meeda 2020, TFL 2019, BBC 2018, Ritschel 2020). An important note on what sets
her apart from most so-called A-list celebrities and global superstars, and what supports
this thesis’ case selection, is her distinctive background. While other stars that are the
focus of ComDev and celebrity humanitarian studies may have had challenging
backgrounds (in their respective frameworks), most of them still originate from what is
often referred to as the Global North, whereas Rihanna was born and raised in Barbados,
which is generally considered to be part of the Global South (World Population Review
12020). While further remarks on Global North-South relations are reserved for later
sections of this thesis, the above mentioned factors are presented here in order to
demonstrate the rationale behind building this case study around not only Rihanna as a
celebrity but around the wider Fenty ‘ecosystem’ that is linked to her. Given these factors
and careful considerations, I believe that Rihanna provides an ideal subject for a study on
celebrity humanitarianism and philanthropy, and that this study will provide unique insight
into an increasingly researched topic in the world of Communication for Development.
1.1 Relevance of the Study
One of the central questions in the field of ComDev is whether someone or something is
actually ‘doing good’ or rather just ‘looking good’ (i.e. Wilkins and Enghel 2013, Jones B.
2017, Enghel and Noske-Turner 2018). This central question and its answers frequently
lead scholarly discussions towards an overwhelmingly critical perception of celebrity
humanitarians, and often initiate a ‘hunt’ for their mistakes. This phenomenon especially
appears to be most prominent when it comes to celebrities and their endeavours in ‘doing
good’. Studies supporting a positive view on celebrity humanitarianism have long been
overshadowed by the immense volume of highly critical accounts (i.e. Littler 2008, Kapoor
2013, Brockington 2014a). This criticism of celebrity humanitarianism has shown to display
postcolonial, post-democratic and neoliberal biases, as the common portrayal of a
celebrity philanthropist in the current body of literature is a wealthy, American, white
superstar who has been lifted in their position of power through discriminatory structures
(i.e. Clarke 2009, Sèbe 2009, Mubanda Rasmussen 2016, Biccum 2007, Chouliaraki
2013, Brockington 2014a, Cosima Budabin 2016, Budabin 2020).
Additionally, current research on celebrity humanitarianism is often conducted as either
ethnographic case studies or discourse analyses, focusing on a single celebrity at a time
and limiting the scope to aspects such as their political effects on a particular cause or
location (i.e. Mubanda Rasmussen 2016, Mostafanezhad 2016, Cosima Budabin 2016).
Some scholars have extended their focus to address business aspects of celebrity
humanitarianism and included analyses of consumerism (Daley 2013) or Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) (Richey and Ponte 2011), while others have investigated the
dissemination of private-sector logic and rationalities through humanitarianism in the form
of ‘philanthro-capitalism’ (Burns 2019) as well as the ‘financialization’ of development aid
(Järvelä and Solitander 2019). While different approaches and foci have been applied to
2both; studies of celebrities and the interlinkages of development, humanitarianism and
business have only been explored to a limited extent.
My interpretation of this particular field of study is that discussions regarding world-
renowned superstars that do not come from white, privileged America or Europe are
heavily underrepresented. Similarly, more diverse, nuanced stories that extend beyond
narratives of ‘white savior’ virtue signalling are rarely represented. On the other hand,
studies that explore a celebrity as a broader ecosystem, rather than only as a one-
dimensional agent, are also frequently underrepresented. Lisa Richey and Stefano Ponte’s
(2011) work on Brand Aid and Product RED provides an enlightening in-depth case study
and opens the door for ‘hard commerce’ and CSR within development studies. However,
while RED was established by a celebrity humanitarian, Bono (Richey and Ponte 2011, p.
1), and provides for an extremely interesting case in the effective humanitarian action, it is
still a business-model solely focused on the aid sector and therefore does not fill the gap in
analyzing and understanding the ecosystems of individual celebrity humanitarians more
holistically.
1.2 Aim and Research Questions
Departing from the gap in ComDev literature that was discussed above and which is
further elaborated upon in the literature review, the aim of this study is to increase the
understanding about celebrity humanitarians as more complex characters than previously
acknowledged. While adopting a somewhat similar methodology as other scholars have, in
the form of a case study, and simultaneously acknowledging the efforts previously put forth
in bringing a business angle and CSR into ComDev, this study demonstrates the
importance of unveiling the business angles of individual celebrities in the attempt to gain
a more comprehensive understanding of philanthropic celebrities as humanitarian actors.
This exploration is reflected against the dominant theoretical approaches in the field in
order to test their ability to provide a comprehensive understanding of celebrity
humanitarians. While the possibilities for in-depth research investigation into studying
philanthropic celebrities like Rihanna are numerous, the previous introduction has shaped
the main research question as follows;
3To what extent can the postcolonial and neoliberal critiques guide us in
understanding celebrity humanitarianism?
To reach a coherent answer to the above question, the research needs to be guided by
initially addressing less abstract aspects.
In order to link Rihanna more firmly to the broader discussion on celebrity
humanitarianism, the first sub-question focuses primarily on the discourse regarding her
humanitarian actions and publicly declared motivations and values. Subsequently, an
aspect of the purpose of this study is to identify a more comprehensive picture of the
ecosystem linked to a celebrity humanitarian Rihanna via a business perspective. In
addition to the argument that such focus is absent in the wider literature, this area is also
the most relevant aspect of Rihanna to analyze given that in her recent years she has
profoundly shifted much of her focus from music to her entrepreneurship and brands. The
second sub-question of the study looks into one of her most prominent business
endeavors; the cosmetics company Fenty Beauty, which has also been hailed for diversity
and inclusion (Rueckert 2017, Meeda 2020, TFL 2019) and has a continuous connection
with Rihanna’s charitable foundation. Accordingly, in order to answer the main research
question, I begin by answering the following sub-questions;
- To what extend do postcolonialism and neoliberalism assist in understanding
Rihanna as a celebrity humanitarian?
- To what extent does Fenty Beauty fit in the discourse of Rihanna as a celebrity
humanitarian, when utilizing a Corporate Social Responsibility analysis?
Building upon this introduction, this study hypothesizes that the existing theoretical
approaches towards celebrity philanthropy and humanitarianism are heavily postcolonial
and neoliberal in nature, and that there is a clear need for a more holistic and inclusive
study of celebrity humanitarianism, as shown in the case of Rihanna and her diverse Fenty
ecosystem. Through answering the above questions, I believe that this study will
contribute to the fields of ComDev and celebrity studies in a profound and practical
manner. After successfully utilizing this research design, the aim of this research is to
encourage a greater interest in more multidisciplinary studies, where ComDev researchers
and students further examine the interplay of business and development, beyond the
4‘clearly’, ‘automatically’ relevant case studies, such as the case of RED [Richey and Ponte
2011). Ultimately, I build an interesting and original contribution to our field, while
upholding a rigorous methodological standard.
Finally before proceeding to the outline I will add an important disclaimer. While this
study’s hypothesis does propose that Rihanna’s unique background provides for a more
complex study in celebrity philanthropy, this thesis does not presuppose that this celebrity
is better suited to philanthropic work than other celebrity humanitarians, nor does it
presume that she conducts philanthropy more ‘correctly’, especially since any widely
approved, established ranking criteria does not exist. This study rather provides a critical
assessment of the often 'picture perfect’ discourse of Rihanna and highlights the
interlinkages between her different roles. Most importantly, the case of Rihanna and Fenty
Beauty is utilized for theory testing purposes.
1.3 Outline of the thesis
After having introduced the aim, purpose and research questions of the study, I now
proceed to introducing the outline of what follows in the thesis.
In order to avoid research that confounds the reader with lists of achievements,
affiliations, and brands, it is crucial to provide adequate background information on the
subject. Therefore, this thesis begins with a background chapter, which is divided into
sections focusing on Rihanna’s history and ongoing efforts in philanthropy, and the
‘ecosystem’ of the Rihanna brand. After the background chapter, this thesis continues with
a thorough review of ComDev literature, situating the case more strongly within the field.
The literature review also provides a brief exploration on the study of celebrities across
different disciplines as a field of its own, and includes a more in-depth understanding of
how celebrities, as well as their link to development and philanthropy, have been studied
previously. Here a discussion of theoretical critiques towards celebrity humanitarianism is
provided. The chapter also links the ComDev field to the concept of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) and brings in literature from business journals to ensure a well-
rounded understanding and use of the concept later on in the thesis.
After an overview of previous research, the thesis continues with a methodology
chapter. Here, the choice of methods and the process of data collection are thoroughly
explained, and the matters of validity and reliability, as well as limitations and delimitations,
are addressed. After explaining the methodology, the research findings are introduced in a
5results chapter, followed by an analysis. The analysis chapter follows the framework
provided by the research questions, focusing initially on Rihanna as a celebrity
humanitarian, after which it turns to an analysis on the ecosystem of the Rihanna brand
and Fenty Beauty, and finally connects the results in discussing how well the dominant
theoretical approaches are able to understand celebrity humanitarianism. The study ends
with a conclusion, where the main findings and reflections are reviewed and suggestions
for future research are provided.
62. Background
To increase the readability of the thesis, especially for readers unfamiliar with Rihanna or
her Fenty brands, this chapter presents background information that will be beneficial in
this regard.
Since her debut in 2005, Rihanna has sold over 60 million albums and 215 million
digital tracks, which has made her the top-selling digital artist in history (Roc Nation). More
importantly for the purposes of this study however, after releasing her latest album in 2016,
she has mostly been in the news due to her entrepreneurial and philanthropic efforts.
According to website ‘Look to the Stars - The word of celebrity giving’, which collects data
on philanthropic efforts of celebrities (cited in i.e. Brockington 2014a, Hood 2016, p. 108),
Rihanna has supported 24 charities and contributed to philanthropic causes ranging from
HIV/AIDS and domestic abuse to peace-building, slavery and human trafficking (Look to
the Stars). She founded her first own organization: the Believe Foundation, in 2006, at the
age of eighteen, with the purpose to help terminally ill children (Clara Lionel Foundation).
Six years later in 2012, Rihanna launched the Clara Lionel Foundation (from hereafter
‘CLF’), which is still active to this day (Clara Lionel Foundation). In addition to programs
with a global focus, the foundation has also provided development aid in Barbados and
throughout the Caribbean (ibid.). As part of partnerships with various organizations and
initiatives, Rihanna’s philanthropic efforts have taken a variety of different forms.
In April 2016, reports emerged that Rihanna had signed a USD 10 million deal with
LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a French luxury good conglomerate, to create her
own makeup brand Fenty Beauty, which was set to be launched later that year (Daily Mail
2016, Wolf 2016). Fenty Beauty went on to break cosmetic industry norms with its release
of 40 foundation shades in the original launch of the brand. This, among other features of
the brand, led to Fenty Beauty being praised for “its inclusivity of ethnic color tones to
which the industry had not adequately catered previously” (Conlon 2019, Cochrane 2019
in Alleyne 2020, p.6). By 2018, the makeup line made over USD 500 million in sales and
was included in Time magazine’s list of “most genius companies of 2018” (Davies 2019).
With the May 2018 release of her global lingerie brand SAVAGE X FENTY, Rihanna
expanded the Fenty ‘commercial umbrella’, a term cleverly coined by Alleyne (2020).
Throughout 2018, her business endeavors garnered more praise as the product selection
and the models used represented a large range of different body types (Nittle 2018). In
2019, Rihanna’s partnership with LVMH expanded when the company announced that the
7luxury goods conglomerate would launch a new ‘luxury Maison’ (fashion house) with the
singer (LVMH 2019).
Image I.
The ‘Fenty Empire. Focus areas for the study are highlighted.
83. Literature Review
The field of Communication for Development (ComDev) is strongly associated with
development cooperation organizations and projects, and examining their effectiveness,
impact, and communications. Many of the driving questions focus on pinpointing global
inequalities and the North-South (power) relations (i.e. Richey 2016). The ultimate
question of how to conduct effective development communication appears repeatedly
throughout the literature, with different foci, and scholars continue to discuss how to do
communication for development, and communication about development. I reviewed many
researchers who also question who is ‘allowed’ or should be doing communication for
development, and found that while not all researchers may ask these questions directly,
ultimately they illustrate the end goal of what conducting ComDev research (hopefully)
aspires to reach: improving the world through development communication.
One notable ComDev scholar, Thomas Tufte (2017), links communication for
development to critical thinking and postcolonialism. His work also provides an example of
the close connections between theorizing and developing practice in the field as the
different roles of media and communication in social change is discussed through practical
examples (ibid.). In discussions of development and international aid, some critics have,
however, even gone as far as to declare international aid to be ‘beyond repair’ and calling
for its elimination (Richey and Ponte 2011, p.89). Often the negative perceptions of this
field becomes even more highlighted when adding celebrities into the equation.
In regard to research designs and topic selection, the ComDev field provides a plethora
of opportunities. While some sub-fields of the discipline maintain a more limited focus,
including the studies on celebrity humanitarianism, others have embraced the advantages
of a more holistic approach to conducting research. One example of such a broader and
more interdisciplinary approach is the political economy of development (Pamment 2014,
p. 53). In the process of mapping remaining questions for future political economy of
development research, James Pamment (2014, p. 54) pinpoints also the importance of
ethical considerations in development studies. He discusses connections between NGO
activities and ‘colonialist intervention’ as well as self-interest of corporations and their
development support, concluding with encouraging future research to engage more with
underlying motivations behind international development (ibid.). Although his focus is more
related to development policies (ibid.), I argue that this is an important indication of how
new, innovative research approaches that simultaneously consider questions of
9economics/business, ethics, and development or humanitarianism are needed across the
ComDev field of study.
3.1 Celebrity Humanitarianism
The research on celebrities has been diverse and cutting across multiple disciplines. A
significant step in the study of celebrities was the establishment of the journal of ‘Celebrity
Studies’ in 2010. Celebrities have enticed interest among scholars of cultural studies
(Stewart 2020), business (Qamar et al. 2020), retail (Teng et al. 2020), psychology
(Goldberg & Flett 2020), political psychology (Elliot 1998), and popular music and society
(Olutola 2019), to name a few. Increasingly, it seems that with a literature search of global
stars, almost any established ‘household name’ celebrity has elicited academic analysis.
This study conceptualizes the term ‘celebrity’ following the guidance of Richey (2016), and
Boltanski and Thévenot (1991). They treat the concept as “a state of superiority in a world
where opinion is the defining instrument for measuring different orders of “greatness”
(Boltanski and Thévenot 1991, pp. 222-30). Richey (2016, p. 9) however, shifts the focus
from analyzing celebrities as actors towards a broader understanding of celebrity actions
in the scope of North-South relations.
When thinking back to the first instances of what could be described as ‘celebrity
humanitarianism’, the 1983-1985 Ethiopian famine provides a prime example. Although
the establishment of Bob Geldof and Midge Are’s ‘Band Aid’ charity supergroup took place
in London at the time, the initiative was not exactly the first of its kind. A concert to benefit
the victims of the war in East Pakistan was organized over a decade earlier in 1971 by
Ravi Shankar and George Harrison (de Waal 2008). It has, however, been noted that the
events ‘inspired’ by the Ethiopian famine can be seen as ‘a watershed with respect to
humanitarian action’, as a significant increase in celebrity humanitarianism emerged after
Band Aid (Müller 2013).
The study of celebrities and politics on the other hand can be seen as dating back to
1940’s Germany, when a sociologist Leo Lowenthal raised critiques of ‘idols of
consumption’ (for example actors) replacing ‘idols of production’ (referring to politicians)
(Lowenthal 1944, Wheeler 2013, p.1). De Waal (2008, p. 53) argues that while the concept
of ‘celebrity humanitarianism’ may not date back longer than a generation, “philanthropists
with celebrity standing have been with us for over a century”. Lisa Ann Richey, who has
10written extensively on the topic, explains that celebrities have increasingly become a topic
of study ‘on their own terms’ (2016, p. 5). However, she also argues that the nature of
celebrity studies often are “limited to theoretical critique or normative name-calling” and
suffer from a lack of “grounded research into what it is that celebrities are doing, the same
or differently throughout the world” (Richey 2016, p. iii). Richey’s statements also support
the argument that a large majority of studies regarding celebrities and development take
an overtly negative stance.
The subject of celebrity humanitarianism continues to divide scholars, but rather than a
‘for’ versus ‘against’ divide regarding celebrity engagement in aid, differences arise rather
from theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and different aspects by which
celebrities are criticized. This chapter aims to organize these critiques thematically,
however, as is demonstrated in the following discussion, many are intertwined and difficult
to be completely separated.
3.1.1 ‘Distant others’, Power, and Postcolonialism
Continuing with Richey, her point of departure consists of the idea that celebrity
humanitarians function as ‘proxy philanthropists’ for the public (2016, p.4). She views the
act of celebrity humanitarianism potentially as a “performance between the celebrity as
benefactor and the public” (ibid.). In her findings, celebrity humanitarianism is described as
a method through which the public can “vicariously participate in the caring activities of our
favorite celebrities” without wading into the complexities of international development or
functioning of humanitarian work on the field (ibid.). Notions regarding the distance
between a ‘savior’ and the recipients of aid is one of the most notable branches of criticism
towards celebrity humanitarian action. This critique is recognized also by Richey and
Ponte (2011), as they highlight the aspect of ‘helping distant others’. A similar argument is
present also in de Waal’s work (2008, p. 44).
De Waal’s criticism is largely targeted at the perceived ‘heroism’ of white Hollywood
stars; a notion widely highlighted and criticized in- and outside of academia which extends
to ‘regular Westerners’ beyond Hollywood (de Waal 2008, Higgins 2018, Mirror 2019,
Badshah 2019, Bandyopadhyay 2019). This study uses the term ‘heroism’ nearly
interchangeable with ‘saviorism’, which to a large extent has been studied under the
concept of ‘white saviorism’. Kathrine Bell (2013, p. 22), who restrains from making overtly
11critical conclusions about an inherently self-serving nature of celebrity philanthropy,
instead argues for thinking about these actions as a ‘double-edged sword’. She does
however support the notion that discourses relating to many philanthropic efforts of
Hollywood stars (in her study George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, and Madonna) include an
“underlying rhetoric of the White Saviour'' (ibid.). One practical example of the
interlinkages between academia and the current public discourse of aid (in addition to the
popular news items presented above among scholarly articles) is an Instagram account
directly dedicated to battling ‘white saviorism’, which currently has over 800 000 followers
(@NoWhiteSaviors, 15 January 2020). This growing critique of public aid is also the
premise in O’Loughlin’s (2020) extremely interesting case on ‘aid exposé’ documentaries,
where he argues that the genre is a significant part of popularizing ongoing debates
regarding aid. O’Loughlin also views it as a tool for contesting neoliberal conditions (ibid.).
Biccum (2007) places blame for reproducing ‘neoliberal subjectivity’ on celebrity
activism, while Müller (2013, p. 470) argues that it has created “a hegemonic culture of
humanitarianism in which moral responsibility is based on pity rather than the demand for
justice”. Following along these lines, Bergman Rosamond (2020) approaches the
discussion from an ethical point of view. She argues that the literature on celebrity
humanitarianism has been heavy on cosmopolitanism and communitarian theory, leaving
often little space for individual level analysis (ibid.). Littler (2008), in turn, emphasizes the
lack of attention paid to the Global South in academia, and argues that the Global South
has not been seen as a sphere where celebrities would engage in social processes and
existing politics. The Global South has also been ignored as a ‘generator’ of original
celebrities that might emerge in the field of humanitarianism as well (ibid.). This is
particularly interesting when discussing Rihanna, which I return to later. Littler (2008)
generally suspects the genuine impact of celebrity humanitarianism while recognizing the
‘hype’ and PR power it can generate.
Hilde Van Den Bulck (2018) puts forth questions regarding the kind of power that
celebrity humanitarianism and related efforts hold. Her work is mainly concerned with
understanding the functioning of the powers that celebrities (and ‘mediated
communications’ about them) hold in defining development, aid, and actors at play (ibid.).
She hypothesized that celebrity humanitarians and what they communicate to the public
play a crucial role in creating understandings of specific issues, who should be blamed,
and what are the ethical and moral considerations required (ibid.). Like many others, Van
Den Bulck (2018) also analyzes these questions through a postcolonial lens, being vary of
12‘postcolonial power relations’ being enforced and studying the authoritative role of
celebrities in humanitarianism. Her research is conducted through a framing analysis
where the research takes a look at celebrity philanthropy documentaries (ibid.). A type of
framing analysis is also utilized by Hopkins in her 2017 article, where she conducts
qualitative research which combines a framing analysis with a critical textual one. Hopkins
uses an array of articles from Australian women’s magazines for developing an
understanding of how ‘transnational celebrity activism’ is framed (Hopkins 2017).
3.1.2 Privatization of Development, Agency of Aid
Recipients, and Neoliberal Critique
In addition to postcolonial considerations, other scholars take on the task of pinpointing
issues through a neoliberal critique. One of the aspects often surfacing in discussions of
celebrity humanitarianism is privatization of development. One example, that I argue,
defines a set of issues regarding privatization of development excellently, comes from
Wilkins and Enghel’s (2013, p. 168) description of The Gates Foundation. It provides an
opportunity for the writers to link ‘a broader agenda of neoliberalism’ into the discussion,
as they argue that as private aid initiatives (such as the Gates Foundation) emphasize
‘individual empowerment’, they are in fact supporting said agenda. The main problem in
this for Wilkins and Enghel (ibid.) seems to be that while doing so, social change is
reduced to ‘entrepreneurship in a market-based system’ and ‘civic involvement and voice
to clicktivism’ (ibid.). When linking celebrity humanitarianism with a wider business
perspective, such critiques may provide additional value to the analysis. Enghel’s later
work (with Noske-Turner 2018, p.14) expands these findings to consider the tensions
between ‘doing good’ and ‘looking good’ in development communication, and argues for
further investigation of international development cooperation audiences and
reconsideration of methodologies and theoretical frameworks in the emergence of a ‘post-
aid system’ and in the broader scope of ‘neoliberal digital capitalism’.
In the same collection, Lauren Kogen (2018, p. 119) discusses aspects that are
somewhat similar to Van Den Bulck (2018), as she presents arguments for further
investigation of how “development efforts are explained to the general public through the
media”. Kogen explains that the formulation of attitudes about aid and ways of addressing
13development are both founded in “how and what the public learns about development”
(Kogen 2018, p. 118). Her discourse analysis on UN spokespersons Angelina Jolie and
George Clooney’s ‘mass communication efforts’ leads to her argument that “particular
stereotypes that place the US and by extension the Global North as the unquestionable
‘heroes’ of development work, and development beneficiaries as the less developed, less
capable, and less comprehensible civilisations forever in need of rescuing” are reinforced
in the celebrities’ efforts (Kogen 2018, p.119). Connecting to the idea of privatization of aid,
Waisbord (2018, p. 171) concludes the collection by arguing that the “looking good’
mindset is not unique to the aid industry”, but instead it is prevalent across “every corner of
contemporary societies – branding, packaging, and messaging”. Waisbord’s argument is
one that supports the more holistic approach proposed in this thesis. However, this thesis
goes further than Waisbord (2018) to hypothesize that there are additional deficiencies in
what current prominent theoretical approaches are able to help us understand about
celebrity philanthropy.
Kapoor (2013) follows a path of discussing neoliberalism in relation to celebrity
humanitarianism. According to Kapoor, the concept of celebrity is to blame for promoting
and legitimizing global inequality and neoliberal capitalism (ibid.). Kapoor’s concerns
regard celebrity brands that gain benefits from their involvement with international
development and that shift political landscapes qualify as being ‘post-democratic’ and
actively provide managing positions to ‘unaccountable elites’ (ibid.). According to
Chouliaraki (2013, p. 187), society has reached a “post-humanitarian” age, which
describes solidarity as being “driven by neoliberal logics of consumption and where
utilitarianism and doing good for ‘others’ depends on doing well for yourself”.
De Waal (2008, p. 55) argued that Western audiences were quick to exchange any
empirics (or the lack thereof) of benefits of celebrity aid for ‘a good story’. Chouliaraki
(2013) joins the choir of critics by arguing that celebrity communication efforts do not
always lead to lasting commitments to the cause. Dan Brockington (2016, pp. 210-211)
also provides an extremely concerned account on celebrity humanitarianism, describing it
to be “flawed from the start, because it will be unable to propose any foundational
change”. He believes in celebrities’ ability to bring public attention to locations where it is
needed, but not in their ability to “speak out on important political matters, and particularly
not on some of the root structures” (ibid.). While recognizing the need for a constructive
critique of celebrity engagement and Brockington’s widely cited contributions to the field,
this thesis challenges his approach as too counterproductive in attempting to undermine
14celebrity humanitarianism altogether. Furthermore, this thesis does however recognize his
concerns that celebrity advocacy may “signal a new aspect of elite rule” (Richey 2016,
p.6).
Finally, Paul Allatson (2015) provides a rare analysis of global stars originating outside
of the U.S. or Europe, who critiques the wider field of celebrity philanthropy studies for its
limited view on the origins of celebrity philanthropists. His research on Colombian singer
Shakira and Puerto Rican Ricky Martin argues against the notion that celebrity
philanthropic activities would only originate and function in the Global North and calls for
wider perspectives. Another rare example that researches beyond white Hollywood stars,
is Sarah Olutola’s analysis on the singer Beyoncé (2019). Olutola (ibid.) examined the
politics of Beyoncé’s branding in the so-called ‘Lemonade-era’, and explored further the
ideological tensions between the ‘white patriarchal music industry’, and a ‘Eurocentric
framework of neoliberal competition’ in which her work and success.
In summary, ‘celebrity humanitarians’ have been defined as enforcers of colonial
cultural powers, unable to propose any foundational change (Brockington 2016, pp.
210-211), unaccountable elites (Kapoor 2013), ‘celebrity colonialists’ (Van Krieken 2016),
‘white saviors’ (Bell 2013), proxies for Western/Northern audiences, and agents
perpetually in need of a ‘distant other’ to help (Richey 2016). As clarified above, the
notions of postcolonialism and critiques of neoliberalism are nearly unavoidable in the
scholarly discussions regarding celebrity humanitarianism. They are also often
complimenting each other and I argue that together they can be seen as a dominating
ComDev approach to the topic. As mentioned above, this study will take postcolonial and
neoliberal critiques as an overarching approach to celebrity humanitarianism and
therefore, does not necessarily make continuous distinctions between the two. The
following analysis returns to these concepts presented above in a discussion testing the
ability of neoliberal and postcolonial critiques to understand celebrity humanitarians.
3.2 Communication for Development and Corporate
Social Responsibility
Another early thought in the writing process of this thesis was to look beyond the popular
discourse of Rihanna ‘doing good’ and all the praise that her business endeavors have
15gained over the recent years. While the original aim was to examine how her public image
and the ‘behind the scenes’ realities of Fenty Beauty would align, this too has been
developed further to hold a stronger connection to the field of ComDev. Although some
may be surprised by the decision to connect a field traditionally connected with
management and business to ComDev, as I provide in this section, the connection
between the two is already acknowledged by some authors. This link is drawn even to the
extent of connecting CSR and celebrities doing good (Richey and Ponte 2011).
Arguably one of the most significant works of CSR in ComDev - and more specifically in
celebrity humanitarianism - is Lisa Richey and Stefano Ponte’s (2011) investigation into
the relationship between the concept of ‘saving the world’ and shopping. They expanded
the literature on celebrities and philanthropy to illuminate the more commercial aspects of
this topic and, in doing so, illustrated how the “the mechanism of celebrity has become
increasingly important in international development, as celebrities are called upon to play
‘expert’ roles, while experts perform as celebrities” (ibid., p. 26). Their case study focuses
on Product RED, a (then) new business model launched by U2 singer Bono, which funds
AIDS treatment “through the purchasing power of Western consumers” and via
collaborations with world leading brands (ibid., p,1). They argue that the ‘genesis’ of RED
and philanthropy in general lies within “early Christian charities’ questioning of the ability of
market mechanisms to ameliorate human misery caused by unchecked capitalist growth”
(ibid., p.55). Ultimately, they contrast the specific case study of RED against different
aspects of CSR (ibid., p.121).
Richey and Ponte explain their approach to CSR as being “a broad, comprehensive,
umbrella term to include aspects such as corporate philanthropy and cause-related
marketing” (ibid., p. 127). They also recognize it being a ‘contentious approach’, that some
other ComDev scholars do not see in a similar light (ibid.). Additionally, they combine
several different aspects of ‘doing good’ in the business world and apply this framework to
the case study of RED, acknowledging that only some of those aspects might be
manifested in that particular case (ibid.). Two of the main critical takeaways from their
review of CSR and development literature are: first, that there continues to be a profound
lack of knowledge on “the actual impact of CSR activities in developing countries” and
second, that CSR can actually be a distraction from “the root causes of poverty and
environmental destruction” (ibid., p.122).
The case of RED is shown as an example of CSR based on ‘hard commerce’, which
places the ‘core objective of profit maximization’ ahead of concerning with the ‘three P’s
16(People, Planet, Profits) on an equal basis’ (ibid.). The CSR model, presented here, shifts
the focus from simply improving the supply chain to what the authors describe as “solving
the problems of ‘distant others’” (ibid., p.124). Despite the ‘contentious’ nature of Richey
and Ponte’s decade-old approach, I find it refreshing and a welcome expansion to a field
that often contains a heavy focus solely on discourses and policy-impact.
One particular concept of relevance to CSR is that of ‘Brand Aid’ which is explained by
Cosima Budabin (2020, p.61) as being “a recent practice fronted by celebrity
humanitarians”. Continuing with Cosima Budabin’s definition; “the concept is built around
three pillars—a branded product, celebrity and a cause”(ibid.). Very briefly summarized,
Brand Aid initiatives are “brands that provide aid”(ibid.). She also argues that Brand Aid
initiatives work along the lines of cause-related marketing, and while being brands that
provide aid, their business model also bring aid to the brands themselves. According to
Richey and Ponte (2011, pp. 10-11), this also allows the companies to “fulfill corporate
social responsibilities in a more public fashion than simply making donations”.
For some reason very few case studies connecting aid, celebrities, and CSR have been
developed, while Richey and Ponte’s (2011) groundbreaking work has been cited
extensively after its publication. Instead of celebrity focused research combining ComDev
and CSR, much of the existing literature has focused on ‘supply-chain
humanitarianism’ (Pascucci 2020), tropical deforestation and ‘Brand-Focused
activism’ (Dauvergne 2017), cause-related marketing campaigns (Hawkins & Kipp 2015),
and relationship of humanitarianism, consumption and philanthropy (Jones, A. 2017).
Richey and Ponte (2020) also recently published a case study on Starbucks, in which they
analyzed ‘Brand Aid and coffee value chain development interventions’. While I argue that
Richey and Ponte’s earlier work (2011) provides a solid foundation for conducting studies
that combine celebrities, aid, and CSR, further contributions that follow their methodology
are still needed. This gap in the literature can be explained for the following two reasons.
Firstly, much of the literature focuses heavily on a single case study, and while it is
examined from various perspectives, these studies should be tested and repeated using
different examples, especially celebrities of color and with more diverse backgrounds.
Secondly, many researchers, including Richey and Ponte (2011), do not fully grasp the
integral role of conventional business perspectives (not solely aid-related) in current
celebrity brands, as in the case of Rihanna and Fenty Beauty, but instead focus
exclusively on celebrity product brands directly linked to aid, such as the Product RED
business model.
17Due to the limited availability of ComDev and CSR literature and in order to enrich the
study, literature more directly focused on CSR will now be explored. To begin this
exploration, Thacker (2019) provides a clear explanation of the core of CSR: “the
relevance and importance of CSR is highly significant today in this capitalist economy, to
ensure the sustainability of life and business in the future”. This introductory sentence by
Thacker, details the essence of CSR and illustrates how relevant it is to the world of
ComDev. While some have struggled with, and argued for, universal definitions of CSR,
which have concluded that it indicates “international private business self-regulation”, and
have reminded the reader of calls for nationalizing CSR regulation (Sheehy 2014). Others
have proceeded towards more practical approaches to CSR by considering consumer
perceptions, and offering a more grounded theory of CSR through a qualitative analysis
(Öberseder et al. 2012). In doing so, more practical approaches are also present, for
example in the work of Liao et al. (2017), who conducted a content analysis regarding
CSR communication. Research has also been conducted on comparing CSR reporting
and performance between different countries (Thorne et al. 2015). According to Garriga
and Melé (2004), different CSR theories present different “dimensions relating to profits,
political performance, social demands and ethical values”. In essence, CSR can be used
as a highway to companies ‘looking good’.
Moving beyond the above literature, I built a more profound and practical
understanding of CSR reporting by examining guidelines for writing such reports. While not
necessarily adding theoretical depth, checklists of ‘How to Write a Great CSR Report’
brings wider understanding of where the writer of the reports might desire the reader to
look - or on the contrary, not pay so much attention. Gutman’s (2013) guidelines made a
highly relevant point even in regard to an academic thesis when it illustrated the
separation between CSR and philanthropy. The advice was to keep the focus on business
practices and workplace conditions rather than on philanthropy, as “corporate social
responsibility is more about how a company makes a profit than what it does with its profit”
(Gutman 2013). Acknowledging philanthropy’s role in a company’s CSR capacity, CSR
reports are more meant to be shining light on how cleanly the profits are made (Gutman
2013). This advice is inherently opposed to the business model of RED as described by
Richey and Ponte (2011). However, in the upcoming analysis on CSR material relating to
the Fenty empire, concepts highlighted by Richey and Ponte (2011) are given specific
focus, given the lack of wider ComDev and CSR-related literature.
184. Methodology
During a thorough reading of studies on celebrities and doing good, I encountered a
selection of divergent research designs. Although different tools are utilized, a large
majority of celebrity studies (in general and in the field of ComDev) as well as CSR
analyses are conducted as case studies. The literature review of both; celebrity studies
relating to the field of ComDev and scholarship focusing on businesses and CSR, while
revealing a wide range of research tools being used, also revealed that a majority
maintained a mainly qualitative approach. In analyses of celebrity humanitarians in
ComDev, different variations of ethnographic research take precedence. For example,
Mostafanezhad and Mubanda Rasmussen’s contributions in Richey’s 2016 book take an
ethnographic approach, while Hood (2016) built her research into a case study, utilizing a
combination of personal observations and an analysis of articles written about the subject.
On the other hand, CSR analyses are often utilizing tools that are able to examine different
types of textual sources.
As the aim of the thesis is to test the extent to which the current literature is able to
understand celebrity humanitarianism, while employing a more holistic approach, it is
relevant to build upon the methodologies of previous examples but to also make some
unique adjustments. Returning first to the main research question of the study, “to what
extent can the postcolonial and neoliberal critiques guide us in understanding celebrity
humanitarianism?”, it becomes clear that case studies with a single focus on political
effects of celebrity humanitarianism do not suffice. This chapter explains the
methodological choices further.
4.1 Case study
This research is constructed as a case study aiming to understand the ‘ecosystem’ of
Rihanna in a more comprehensive manner, and challenge the prominent theoretical
frameworks utilizing this example. As the world, and the ecosystem of Rihanna, function
increasingly in a digital setting, adequate data is readily made available online, while more
traditional tools were used in the analysis. Although the design of testing theory with the
help of a case study can be perceived with ambivalence, some researchers such as Løkke
and Dissing Sørensen (2014) strongly support this approach. Especially since the study of
celebrities and celebrity humanitarians is in its adolescence, and consists largely of
19inductive studies, this paper proposes that there is space for this type of design. In Løkke
and Dissing Sørensen’s (2014, p. 73) words; “theory testing using case studies evaluates
the explanatory power of theories and their boundaries, thus assessing external validity”.
Despite the fact that an independent research goal could be the testing of competing
theories, in this case study, the postcolonial and neoliberal critiques are rather tested
together as an interlinked ‘representative’ of prominent ideas of celebrity humanitarianism
scholarship. The main aim of the case study is to examine how well can these theories
understand celebrity humanitarians as holistic, comprehensive entities when a business
angle is included.
4.1.1 Textual and Discourse Analysis
The first part of the research is conducted with the help of discourse and textual analyses
on a set of video material (sources: I.-VI.). This part of the study aims to understand
Rihanna as a celebrity humanitarian. Textual analysis is one of the most widely used
methods in social science research and it covers a variety of predominantly qualitative
methodologies (Lockyer 2012). As this case study takes on a strongly qualitative
approach, the textual analysis is also of qualitative nature focusing on the content of the
data. Complementing the textual analysis, features of discourse analysis are brought in, as
the contents of the videos will be linked to a wider context provided by news items
introduced throughout the thesis.
The video material that is analyzed includes speeches and interviews by Rihanna, as
well as impact material from her Clara Lionel Foundation. A detailed explanation for which
videos are selected, and how they are collected, is provided in the upcoming data
collection sub-section. Analysis on videos, particularly the ones that attempt to show the
impact of one’s work - such as CLF impact and introductory videos - could easily provide
material for a visual analysis with a different focus. Tools of visual analysis could, for
example, be utilized in studying visual representations of power relations. Analyzing
choices of visual art directory in such videos, could also enrich this study by contributing to
the ‘image’ of Rihanna, if the scope of the study would not pose limitations. Another
potential method in the study of celebrities is a rhetorical analysis. Such an analysis could
be employed, as a ‘persuasive discourse’ may arise in some of the data for this study
(Leach 2000). However, as the focus is rather on material where Rihanna discusses her
own work, values, and motivations for philanthropy instead of for example direct
20fundraising content, this thesis proposes that the discourse and textual analyses offer
better assistance in complementing the overall research design at hand.
4.1.2 Qualitative Document Analysis
Different forms of qualitative research have been widely used in conducting CSR analyses.
Qualitative data was utilized in some of the examples previously mentioned, such as in
Öberseder et al. (2012). Two prominent CSR scholars, Garriga and Melé (2004), on the
other hand go into explaining the four categories which different approaches to CSR can
be divided into. The four categories, which may provide to be relevant in the upcoming
analysis are defined as:
“(1) instrumental theories, (corporation is only an instrument for wealth creation), (2) political
theories, (power of corporations in society and a responsible use of this power in the political
arena); (3) integrative theories, (corporation is focused on the satisfaction of social demands); and
(4) ethical theories, (ethical responsibilities of corporations to society).”
Connecting the CSR analysis to the field of ComDev again, researchers Richey and
Ponte (2011, p. 127) were reviewed, who previously defined their CSR approach to be
‘broad and comprehensive’. This method provides the most space for attempting to
analyze the Fenty empire and its CSR material. When assessing Fenty Beauty, this thesis
must also take into consideration the legal framework under which it works, what kind of
official requirements do they have to fulfill, and additionally how they might go beyond the
minimum requirements or not.
Although the selected CSR reports would provide detailed sources for different types of
quantitative textual analysis, including coding and calculating words, the second part of
this study also follows the previously determined and supported qualitative approach.
Therefore, the method used for assessing CSR materials in this study is a qualitative
document analysis.
4.2 Data Collection
The specific aspect of the ‘Fenty empire’ that this study focuses on, is one of Rihanna’s
prominent business efforts - Fenty Beauty. Despite most of Rihanna’s businesses
21presumably being driven by a strong message of inclusivity and providing space for all
different kinds of bodies (both in products and marketing), Fenty Beauty is still celebrated
as the most significant ‘breakthrough’ (to date) with its cosmetics industry standard-
shattering release in 2017, that included a foundation in 40 shades (Fetto 2020), which
makes it an interesting point of departure.
The data for this study is collected in two parts. Firstly, a set of videos is collected for
analysis regarding Rihanna’s philanthropic efforts. Using YouTube as a platform, searches
with the terms ‘Rihanna philanthropy’ and ‘Rihanna humanitarianism’ were conducted. The
search was done with both sets of search terms as they are largely used interchangeably
in this study. The search results then required some further filtering to find content that
included a) statements directly from Rihanna herself, b) content limited to the past six
years (to ensure compatibility with the CSR data set) and c) content that represented
speeches, interviews and impact material from charitable projects equally. The final data
set ended up including two speeches (acceptance speeches for receiving the Harvard
University Humanitarian of the Year award and the NAACP President’s Award for
philanthropic efforts), two short interviews discussing philanthropy (Interview with Rihanna
at the Savage x Fenty launch 2019 and Interview with Rihanna at the 2019 Diamond Ball),
and two impact videos of her humanitarian work ('Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation’ and
‘Malawi Trip 2017’).
Second, I collected the social responsibility reports of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis
Vuitton, the French luxury goods conglomerate under which Fenty Beauty (as well as
Rihanna’s fashion line FENTY) operates. In addition to a general ‘Annual report’ and
financial reports, LVMH publishes separate reports on ‘Environmental Responsibility’ and
‘Social Responsibility’ on an annual basis (LVMH). Due to the strong focus on social
aspects and inclusivity seen in both Rihanna’s philanthropic and business image, it was
decided that the data be limited to the ‘Social Responsibility Reports’. The data for this
study consists of reports from the years 2016-2019. The report form 2016 represents the
responsibility efforts of a company that Rihanna decided to do business with, and the
reports from 2017-2019 represent the company that she in one way or the other was
involved with and tied to. Additionally, statements on Global Impact and Supply Chain
Transparency from the Fenty Beauty website are included for analysis.
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