Rihanna knew about domestic violence because she watched her father beat her mother. The singer told Diane Sawyer on 20/20 tonight that her father hit her mother when she was a child growing up in Barbados.
I always anticipated it happening. At night I wouldn’t want to sleep, because I was too afraid it would happen.
She never went to the hospital, but he broke her nose. She would never go to the hospital…Domestic violence is not somebody that people want anbody to know, so she would just hide it in the house. I always said to myself, ‘I’m never going to date somebody like my dad, never.’
Rihanna not only dated a man who beat her—-she went back to him after a very brutal beating. But Rihanna has a message for women:
I am strong and it happened to me. If it happened to me, it could happen to anyone.
The singer says that one of the reasons she has come forward about her story is to help other young women who are in abusive relationships. She doesn’t want other women to make the mistakes she made for love.
Rihanna says Chris Brown needs to accept responsibility for what he did, accept it as a man would. She believes that people can change but she says that people have to want to change.
In her 20/20 interview wit Diane Sawyer, Rihanna says she knows Chris Brown is sorry for what he did but she’s not sure he truly understands the damage he did when he attacked her:
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. 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.
Rihanna said although her wounds had long healed, she had scars inside that would not heal. The singer told Diane Sawyer that Chris Brown had trouble accepting that the relationship was over.
After the attack, Rihanna briefly reunited with Brown, but said that she never forgave him. She went to Miami with Brown in March but she realized she made a mistake and broke things off. The details of Brown’s attack are gut-wrenching:
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. 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 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 s*** 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 and 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 was bleeding. I was swollen in my face. 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.
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.
In denial, she said her love for Brown clouded her judgment.
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.
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. According to experts on domestic violence, returning to an abuser is not unusual for victims of domestic violence.
After Miami, she realized she made a mistake and broke things off.
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Chris is a disgrace. What a disgusting human being. All of his apologies were fake. You can tell in his interviews that he only said he was sorry in hopes to save his career. I hope that after this extremely revealing interview by Rihanna, that, NO ONE buys his records. I hope he gets spit on in the streets. You can tell that she really did love him. She clearly didn’t want it to end but she had no choice. I give Rihanna TONS of credit for realizing that she cannot go back to him and sticking with it. So many women run back time and time again. She truly is a strong woman. I know that I was in a horrible relationship for 5 years and I kept going back. Just like she said, I would go into denial, and let me heart do the thinking. I was not abused physically, but definitely mentally. You go girl. Your interview inspired me. It gives me strength. Your interview makes me never want to talk to my ex again. If you can do it, so can many other woman. Thank You.
OMG this interview was so revealing and sad…. SHE SAID SHE DOESNT WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING FROM CHRIS BROWN AT ALL She saying be a man and dont make excuses and face what he did- and for all of you making excuses for Chris- she said you’re ignorant Chris Brown has PREVIOUSLY DOCUMENTED VIOLENCE against rihanna by THE POLICE RIHANNA SAID HIS APOLOGY LOOKS FAKE RIGHT FROM THE TELEPROMPTER She NEVER heard that stupid sorry song… and doesnt care to hear from chris! BOW- THAT HURTS DOESN’T IT It must hurt to know she doesnt give a **** for any excuses I don’t know how Chris Brown will survive this……
he is sick and he needs help
This is so sad, but also so true. It can happen to anyone. I also grew up with a verbally and sometimes physically abusive father and promised myself I wouldn’t marry someone like that. But, my ex-husband also had an abusive side and our relationship ended with domestic violence restraining orders, among other things. My ex-husband still sends taunting emails with veiled threats saying, “you’re the only person I’ve ever hit or would consider hitting.” Like it’s funny. It’s not.
Many women don’t leave. Many women don’t say anything.
Rihanna is brave to speak out, and I applaud her for the example she’s setting for younger women.
They can both help people in domestic violence situations. They both need help. He’s young enough to get help and change and help the many people that he has the ability to reach. It’s happened so now let’s look at how they can use the situation to help. BTW I don’t believe she was honest!
What timing…New album-new interview. So convenient.
timing thing is definitely on purpose…but who can blame them. This stuff is tabloid gold and people eat it up. Its so sad that publicists and record companies squeeze the very life and emotions out of their artists to make a few extra bucks.
wow… u kno wats really sad…the thing about her mom…WAS ACTUALLY SAID BY CHRIS BROWN YEARS AGO! you lying piece of trash, your father was a drug addict! Stick to your own background and stop throwing your own family under the bus, especially for things they didnt do!
By the way to those who didn’t read the report, she admitted to both hitting him twice FIRST and sitting on the damn keys like a child. Elijah, Rihanna has previously documented domestic violence against Chris Brown, and her younger brother, both unwarranted. Nobody really cares if she gives a damn about our opinions, this is to inform the viewing public of her misdeeds and lies so that they know the truth, or atleast as much of the truth that can be given. Atleast Chris had the decency not to air Rihanna’s dirty laundry because it is clear to those who did their research that the girl hit him and has been for quite some time. This is the first time he retaliated and it will be the last.
Well that’s why she start fights. Right on time for her new album to drop.
Give her pr team a big props.
Rihanna needs to grow and accept owership for starting that fight. Since when do women have the right to jump up and beat people. I think she clearly act out on the violence she grew up with.