Rihanna -- Rachel Dolezal Is a Hero ... She's a Black Game Changer!

File Under: Didn't See This One Comin' ... but Rihanna just went to bat for faux-black person Rachel Dolezal ... saying her ultra-tan charade was less disgraceful and more HEROIC!

"I think she was a bit of a hero, because she kind of flipped on society a little bit," Rihanna told Vanity Fair.

"Is it such a horrible thing that she pretended to be black? Black is a great thing, and I think she legit changed people’s perspective a bit and woke people up."

Dolezal was mocked relentlessly for pretending to be black -- and resigned from her position as the President of the Spokane Chapter of the NAACP after she was exposed.