Rihanna’s decision to cut her hair was even more controversial than originally known.

“The label [Def Jam] didn’t want me to do this look,” the 19-year-old singer tells January’s Allure of her edgy bob. “But cutting my hair, it made me stand out as an artist. I don’t care who likes it – this is me.”

Rihanna – whose hit “Umbrella” was the No. 2 single of the year – says her sharp do has inspired many copy-cats.

“My friends still live in Barbados,” she says of her home country. “They let me know that everyone asks for the “Rihanna haircut.’”

But she wasn’t so popular growing up. She tells the magazine she was teased for having paler skin than her peers.

“I was cultured in a very ‘black’ way,” she says. “But when I got to school I’m being called ‘white’… they would look at me, and they would curse me out. I didn’t understand.”

She also tried to clear up rumors that she romanced Josh Hartnett. Though they were spotted making out, she explained: “He and my management, they have each other’s contact information. I went to [NYC club] Pink Elephant, and he came by.

“All of a sudden, the next day, I’m seeing that we were kissing and hugging up each other.”

However, she cooled of gossip that she hooked up with Jay-Z, president of her Def Jam label, and that she has feuded with his girlfriend, Beyonce.

“She’s Beyonce, and I’m [Jay-Z's] new protegee,” she said. “When we see each other we say hi. We’re not enemies, but we’re not ‘friends’ friends.”

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