 Nine months after Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna, the R&B star has asked his ex-girlfriend to keep the attack "private". "The details should remain ... between us," Brown said, referring to last week's TV interview between Rihanna and Diane Sawyer on American current affairs programme 20/20.
In the second half of a two-part interview with Sawyer, Rihanna relived her argument with Brown as they drove home from an industry party on 8 February. According to Rihanna, Brown received a text message from another woman – but denied it. "I caught him in a lie, and he wouldn't tell the truth. And I wouldn't drop it. I couldn't take that he kept lying to me, and he couldn't take that I wouldn't drop it. And ... it was ugly." According to police reports, Brown bit Rihanna, put her in a head lock and punched her several times in the face. Hearing these allegations, Rihanna nodded. "I fended him off with my feet," she said. "He had no soul in his eyes. Just blank. He was clearly blacked-out. There was no person when I looked at him. It was almost as if he had nothing to lose. He had so much to lose. It wasn't the same person that says I love you. It definitely wasn't those eyes." Asked if alcohol played a role in the events that night, Rihanna said. "No, we weren't even drunk." "I was battered, I was bleeding, I was swollen in the face," she said. "So there was no way of me getting home, except ... to get out of the car and walk. Start walking in a gown, in a bloody face. So I really don't know what my plan was." Eventually, a passer-by called police to the scene. After Rihanna's appearance on 20/20, Brown said: "While I respect Rihanna's right to discuss the specific events of 8 February, I maintain my position that all of the details should remain a private matter between us. I do appreciate her support and wish her the best. I am extremely sorry for what I did, and I accept accountability for my actions. Abuse of any kind is always wrong. The rest I leave it to God." "Love doesn't go away right away," Rihanna said. "I don't hate [Chris] at all. I actually love and care about him. I want him to do well, have a great career, have a great life and grow up." She spoke out against an "unnecessary" court ruling, ordered as part of Brown's plea bargain, which prevents the two singers from coming into contact with each other. "I [don't] want it to be interrupting my work. Like if I went to an event, I'd have to think, 'Oh my gosh, I'd have to stay 10 yards away from him.' It's a spectacle, it's too much." guardian.co.uk 09/11/09 |
