Rihanna Tells Her Full Story To ‘20/20’
On Thursday, singer Rihanna spoke a bit about the assault she endured at the hands of ex-boyfriend Chris Brown and then on Friday, she spoke a bit more. Last night on 20/20, Rihanna told her entire story to Diane Sawyer and the 8.2 million folks watching on TV … her story is a harrowing one … but also a brave one. Here are a few screencaps from her powerful interview and some excerpts from her 20/20 interview:
In a tremendously moving and articulate interview with 20/20, Rihanna gave her first full-length statements about her assault by Chris Brown in February. Describing the beating she suffered in a car with Brown, the singer said that when he beat her, “He had no soul in his eyes… It was almost like he had nothing to lose.” Speaking to Diane Sawyer, Rihanna said of Brown’s remorse afterward, “He’d say, ‘You hate me, don’t you?’ and I would lie and say, ‘No.’” That was a chilling moment, one among many. Sawyer showed Rihanna online videos of people — fans? — saying that she must have provoked Brown. Sawyer paraphrased their sentiments: “They say, ‘Did she bait him? Rile him?’” Rihanna said bluntly of such questions, “It’s ignorance.” Demonstrating a maturity and thoughtfulness about her experience, Rihanna noted, “With fame comes a lot of things, and the most dangerous is freedom… no boundaries.” At the same time, she said that when she’s shown the pictures of her battered face from that night, “I get very ashamed, angry… embarrassed… You start lying to yourself, blaming yourself… I didn’t want people looking at me. I felt really lonely.” She claimed never to have heard the song Brown supposedly recorded for her called “Changed Man.” When Sawyer showed her the internet apology Brown issued and asked the singer’s reaction, Rihanna said simply, “It sounds like he might be reading off a teleprompter… I don’t know if he understood the extent of what he did.” Rihanna explained the fight’s source: ”I caught him in a lie,” when she saw a text message from another woman. “I wouldn’t drop it, and he couldn’t take that.” She described their love as “dangerous… It was a bit of an obsession.” The awful pressure that is placed upon celebrities to be role models was made clear when she said, “My selfish desire for love could result in some young girl getting killed. I could not be easy with that, responsible for that.” How terrible that this woman should have to bear that weight in addition to what happened to her. That’s one of the biggest flaws of current pop culture — the notion that celebrities must set an example for others. Rihanna went so far as to say to Sawyer, “I’m glad it happened to me, because now I can help young girls when it happens to them.” Sawyer asked if she “hated” Brown. She replied, “I want him to do well, to have a good career… and to grow up.”
I cannot even express how impressed I was with Rihanna’s interview last night … she was thoughtful, sure, honest and bold in her statements. You could tell how uncomfortable she was talking about certain aspects of her ordeal but you could also tell how confident she was that she was doing the right thing. I am so glad that ABC decided to air portions of Rihanna’s interview over two days and one night … the wider her story is spread, the more likely that her message will reach those who desperately need to hear it. After the jump, watch Rihanna’s entire 20/20 interview online …
It was clearly evident to me that Rihanna was being as bare-boned honest as she could be … I imagine it is not easy to talk about the horror that she endured and, yet, she boldly told her story for all the world to hear. Detractors will, once again, place blame on her at every turn — saying she instigated/deserved what she got, saying she is capitalizing on the timing of the interview — but I vehemently believe that NO person deserves to be hit, under any circumstances, EVER! Never once during her interview did she talk about her new album or did any promo for any of her endeavors. I actually yelled out loud with glee when Diane Sawyer asked Rihanna what she wanted to hear from Chris Brown and her response was, “Nothing.” IMHO, Chris Brown is scum and while I believe in redemption, I feel she will be better off to never allow him back in her life. She seems well aware that there are countless young women out there who look up to her and she wants to be the best example that she can be … having endured a brutal assault, she seems adamant that she wants to do whatever she can to offer help to others in need. I not only applaud Rihanna, I have the utmost respect for her. Again, it is my sincerest wish that her message reaches as many people as possible … mebbe her experience can help someone else save themselves from a deadly situation. Thank you Rihanna for speaking out … I’m sure there are many people out there who will benefit from your words.
