Yesterday we saw part 1 of Good Morning America‘s interview with Rihanna, her first televised interview since being assaulted by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown back in February, and today we get to see part 2 of GMA‘s interview. Today, Rihanna spoke specifically about that fateful night when she was beat bloody and reveals what the circumstances were that led to the assault. Here are a few screencaps from her interview and some excerpts from the piece:

Rihanna is breaking her silence about the night then-boyfriend Chris Brown beat her, telling Diane Sawyer that he had “no soul in his eyes.” “It wasn’t the same person that says I love you. It was not those… eyes,” she told Sawyer in an exclusive interview. “He had … no soul in his eyes. Just blank. …He was clearly blacked out. There was no person when I looked at him.” The February 2009 assault left the 21-year-old battered and bruised, and Brown was sentenced to five years of probation, community labor, and one year of domestic-violence counseling. “All I kept thinking all the time: When is it going to stop? When it is going to stop?” she said. After the attack, Rihanna briefly reunited with Brown, but said that she never forgave him. “I just said to him, ‘I can’t do this.’ I resented him. I resented him so much. And I always put the tough face on and try to, I can do anything face, and just try to play it off. But he knew. He knew it. He kept asking me, ‘You hate me, don’t you? You hate me,’” she told Sawyer. “And I would lie and I would say, ‘No, no. And … I did hate him. … Everything about him annoyed me. So finally … I just said, we can’t … we can’t do this. I cannot continue to do this.” Before the dramatic incident, the couple’s seemingly fairytale relationship began as a friendship. A 16-year-old Rihanna — with a growing empire of endorsements, fashion spreads, and a bank account in the multi-millions — said she was attracted to 15-year-old Brown’s personality, humor and charm. “We were just friends. We always played. So it was … a good feeling to come out of the adult lifestyle and just, when you’re in your room, just be yourself,” she said of their year-and-a-half-long romance. “He was definitely my first big love.” But the starlet said that the deeper they fell for one another, the darker their relationship became, bordering on an “obsession.” “To fall in love with your best friend it … can be scary because the … the emotions get really, they get the best of you. Like it takes over,” she said. “The more in love we became, the more dangerous we became for each other, equally as dangerous.” Rihanna recounted the details of the “ugly” night, describing how she and Brown got in a heated argument over a text message on Brown’s phone. “I caught him in a lie. And he wouldn’t tell the truth … I was being more annoyed at that point in our relationship he had to lie about something so stupid,” she said. “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.”
Yes, that fateful night got very ugly from there :( After the jump, read more of Rihanna‘s interview with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America today and watch video of the popstarlet telling her story, in her own words …
According to the police affidavit, Brown shoved Rihanna into the window of his car, while driving. He punched her several times in the eye and said, “I’m going to beat the shit out of you when we get home.” When Rihanna tried to call her assistant’s phone, Brown warned, “You just did the stupidest thing ever. I’m going to kill you,” and threw her phone out the window. Rihanna confirmed the brutal account, but told Sawyer she knew Brown wouldn’t act on his words. “I know he was saying it to scare me,” she said. Rihanna acknowledged that Brown bit her and had her in a headlock until she had trouble breathing. She told Sawyer that she did not try to fight back. “I fended him off with my feet from one … side of the car, but … it was not like, it was not like a fight with each other. I just … I really just wanted it to stop,” she said. Her screams prompted someone to call 911 and report the disturbance to the Los Angeles Police Department. Rihanna told Sawyer that, by that point, she was “battered.” “I was bleeding. I was swollen in my face,” she said. “So there was no way of me getting home, except for, my next option was 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. I didn’t have a plan. That whole night was not part of my plan.”
To the shock of many fans, the two pop stars reunited after the assault — a decision which Rihanna now calls a mistake. “I went through … a host of emotions. It was confusing for me. I was still attached by love. But I wasn’t thinking about … the reality of the situation,” she said. In denial, she said her love for Brown clouded her judgment. “I made a selfish decision for love. It was a wakeup call. …Love is so blind. It is so blind. “You start lying to yourself. … This is a memory you don’t want to have ever again. … the physical wounds go away, you put it in the back of your head and you start lying to yourself subconsciously,” she said. “I felt very lonely. …I couldn’t even go back to my own house because there were 200 people outside with cameras, paparazzi, journalists, fans, neighbors.” She told Sawyer that the media blitz was overwhelming and extremely isolating. “This is why I made my decision. …I felt really lonely. …There were times when I cried. There were times when I just sat there all day and watched TV,” she said. Rihanna said she was “embarrassed” and “humiliated” by the graphic photo of her that was leaked to the press after Brown’s attack, in which her face appears battered and swollen. “Who likes seeing their face like that? …I feel humiliated. I get angry, all over again, every time I see it,” she said. “The whole thing plays back in my head. So I don’t like to see it.” Rihanna told Sawyer that at the time, she even convinced herself that she had to protect Brown from scrutiny. “If I feel this depressed, then what is he going through?” she said. “I had to protect him. I thought that I had to let him know, don’t do anything crazy. Like just hang in there…The whole world hates him now. His fans, his career. He just, he lost me, I just need to let him know; don’t do anything stupid …I’m not saying that’s an excuse for me to go back, but this is what I was thinking about.” The singer said she replayed the incident in her head, and began to question what she could have done to set off Brown. “Initially you start thinking, what could I have possibly have said to make him hit me?” she said. “Eventually you’re like, you know … stop. Stop. Stop. Ask yourself. There’s nothing you can do or say to make somebody do that to you. That’s on them. And … I just knew he had a problem. I knew he had a problem. He had a temper. He needed to get some help. And … and he did.” According to psychologists, returning to an abuser is not unusual for victims of domestic violence. “I’m a human being and people put me on a very unrealistic pedestal. And all these expectations, I’m not perfect,” she said. “The thing that men don’t realize, when they hit a woman, it’s… the face, the broken arm, the black eye, it’s going to heal. That’s not … the problem. It’s the scar inside,” she said. “You flashback. You … you remember it all the time. It comes back to you whether you like it or not. And it’s painful. So I don’t think he understood that. They never do.” Shortly after the March trip to Miami with Brown, she realized she made a mistake and broke things off. “The past few months, I just, I didn’t talk about it to anyone, to no one. Not my friends. Not my family … It’s not something that I wanted to relive. It’s not something I wanted to think about … I just put it away in a box…and just ignored it really.”
The star, who has sold 15 million albums, — is back after a nine-month hiatus with a new single, “Russian Roulette,” from her highly-anticipated album “Rated R” to be released later this month. “I feel when I look back on the four years, I feel like I’ve grown so much … in such a short space of time and achieved a lot,” she said. “I’m blessed.” The singer told Sawyer that she is not dating anyone now and can’t imagine getting back together with Brown. “I don’t have a desire at all to be with him,” she said. “… I can’t see how we … would get back together, but I’m also not God and I can’t predict the future.” Rihanna decided to speak publicly about the incident to warn others who may be in danger of returning to abuse. “I knew I had to do this in order to move on for me and in order for my fans to move on with me because it would always be a question in their mind,” she said. “I don’t want that five years from now every time they see Rihanna, they think of Chris Brown beating me. That’s not who I am. It’s just one thing that happened to me.”
I am so glad that Rihanna finally feels strong enough to talk about her assault … we learned yesterday that she was initially embarrassed and today she opened up about the mistakes that she made in the wake of her assault (I was among the shocked fans who could not believe that she would go back to him after he so brutally beat her) but it sounds like she has finally gotten to a place where her strength has given her the ability not only to speak out but to move on. I absolutely applaud her decision to speak out about this horrible incident.
Here is video of Rihanna‘s appearance on Good Morning America earlier today:
The full interview will air on 20/20 on ABC tonight. I must reiterate that I am pleased that Rihanna‘s interview is airing so many times on national television … it is my hope that her message will reach the hearts and minds of those who may be in her similar abused situation and will find their own strength in order to get themselves out of that dangerous situation.
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Comparing Rihanna to Britney is ridiculous. Britney basically had a mental breakdown. What she went through is not really applicable to women the world over: from sexualized child star to paparazzi magnet to allegedly being under the control of a drug-pushing “manager.” What Rihanna is talking about is something that, sadly, many women have to deal with. She can offer them hope, insight, and maybe a sense of not being alone by talking about what she went through. Of course she has to do publicity for her record. Why not take the opportunity to share something of substance that could make a difference in someone’s life?
im so glad rihanna spoke about this.
and im glad she also didnt just blame chris like everyone else is.
-thumbs up for rihanna-
mad love for riri, mad love.
i don’t think she’s using her album’s promotion to spread the word about abuse. i think she’s doing it the other way around. i do think she would’ve come out to speak no matter what, though. and trent, you asked “since when does abuse promote album sales?” and the answer is whenever an artist chooses to speak about ANY scandal they may be in that coincides with an upcoming project. these things always generate interest.
@syl — Why are posting hateful things under the name “Angie”? Your ip address is the same (208.181.95.74) no matter what name you post under. If you continue to post under different names, all of your comments will be blocked as spam.
HAHAHAHAHA
That is awesome!
“@syl — Why are posting hateful things under the name “Angie”? Your ip address is the same (208.181.95.74) no matter what name you post under. If you continue to post under different names, all of your comments will be blocked as spam. ”
That’s kind of sad…and pathetic. It’s funny that Trent caught it.
As for Rihanna, I agree 100% with FK. Comparing Britney’s situation to Rihanna’s is completely absurd.
good for her for spreading this important message. domestic violence happens in all levels of society, so its good to see her opening up, taking control and having a voice.
.
however – what on earth is up with her hair? not that it really matters, but it isnt not flattering on her.
@ It’s Trent, Bitch! (otherwise known as amazing creator here)… thanks for sticking up for rihanna. I can’t understand how people can be so judgmental over a woman who got attacked by someone she loved and trusted for discovering him in a lie. as a victim of domestic violence, i thank both you and rihanna. people have no clue about domestic violence and how it affects the people around them. they make judgments on who it affects and how it affects them. These judgments are normally incorrect. Sadly, this is because it’s not actually ever discussed.
Thank you for having an open dialogue. Hopefully, it will help educate some people.
For her to get out of the relationship, that took great strength in breaking down the psychological barriers that abused victims face. They think that they are helpless, when they really aren’t. There are thousands of abused victims out there who think that they can’t get out of it when in fact, they can. Just get outta there and call for help!
For Brown to keep lying, man it’s just not cool. I understand how that infuriated her. I would too. Honest and trust is really important in a relationship. It’s ok to flirt with someone else though you’re attached, but the two of you need to understand that it’s just harmless flirting. Unless, it’s not….
Keep it real!
Ok, you guys are insane. Rihanna was beaten up by someone she loved and trusted. You cannot provoke something like that! It does not matter what you say or do, no one deserves to be hit and attacked by anyone, least of all someone they care about. Also, how can you say Rhianna is just “selling out” and “just trying to sell her mediocre album” How could anyone think that shes speaking out for any monetary value? Perhaps she has been prompted by her managers to speak out before a record release, but she wouldn’t have done it unless she felt she needed to send a message out to others. It would no doubt hurt her to speak of, but in the end, it would help her, if not just slightly. Perhaps Britney decided not to speak out about her break down but, you know what? thats her “prerogative” Each to their own, we deal with trials and tribulations in our own way, and this must be Rhianna’s. Give it a rest. She’s dealt with enough crap for one life time.
Also, think what you want of her as a person, but to go through everything she has, and so publically and to do her best to get through the other side and to share her story with so many people makes her one extremely brave person. If your just going to say stupid crap about her hair and wardrobe and critisis her timing, why bother commenting? Your comment isn’t even worth the space.
How could that guy be hitting her, when he could have been making love to her instead? I don’t get it. I would have been pumping so much love into her, that her cup would have floweth over. Can someone explain to me why one would choose violence over good loving? This girl is beautiful, like a living breathing carmel candy bar. Skin like silk, flows like a kilt, wet steamy body like a hot cup of milk. That guy is a damn fool and should have did jail time!