14 DAY TRIAL // The latest issue of Elle magazine brings a new interview with pop star Rihanna, who is now promoting her feature film acting debut, “Battleship.” In it, she talks about fame, wanting a family and, surprisingly, the 2009 assault.
Three years ago, as they were driving home from a party, Rihanna and then-boyfriend Chris Brown got into a massive argument over text messages he had on his phone from another woman, as fans must already know.
In a fit of rage, he beat her up so badly he put her in the hospital. He's paid his dues since then and even Rihanna has forgiven him, working with him this year on no less than two different records.
She now tells Elle that, while she understands why people reacted the way they did to news of the assault, at the end of the day, it's no one's business but her own.
“I respect what other people have to say. The bottom line is that everyone thinks differently. It’s very hard for me to accept, but I get it,” she says of the criticism both she and Chris have been getting since that particular episode.
“People end up wasting their time on the blogs or whatever, ranting away, and that’s all right. I don’t hate them for it,” Rihanna adds.
She also says that she was somehow liberated when people found out about what had happened between herself and Chris because, for once, the truth was out there and she didn't have to hide anymore.
“It gave me guns. I was like, well, [expletive]. They know more about me than I want them to know. It’s embarrassing. But that was my opening,” the pop star notes.
“That was my liberation, my moment of bring it. I wanted people to know who I am. Whatever they take that to be, good or bad, I just want them to know the truth,” she explains.
Since then, Rihanna has learned that, the more people know of her, the more freedom she has. In a strange twist of fate, for RiRi, the loss of privacy equals a gain in freedom, because she doesn't have to waste time pretending and hiding anymore.
She also notes that she has no intention of apologizing (either for the 2009 assault or for what followed it) because, no matter what people say, she will still do what she wants to do.
Here is more.