14 DAY TRIAL // The much mediated Oprah special with Rihanna on Oprah's Next Chapter aired the other day and, as we also informed you, it included much talk about the pop star's personal life and very little about the music. PR specialists are already reacting to her admission of still loving Chris Brown.
For those not in the know, Chris and Rihanna dated until 2009, when their romance came to a sudden end after he lashed at her in a fit of rage and beat her to a bloody pulp.
The abusive episode shocked the world and forced both stars to go into hiding for a time. Rihanna told Oprah in the 1-hour interview, which you will also find embedded at the end of this article, that she still loved Chris regardless of that.
She even called him the love of her life, saying she couldn't imagine one day not loving him, even though they're no longer together.
As expected, various voices online are already criticizing her for saying these things, The Huffington Post reports.
Among them are those of support groups spokespersons, who believe that Rihanna is “normalizing” domestic violence by publicly professing her love for the man who put her in the hospital with his fists.
A PR specialist also believes RiRi and her team made a huge mistake with this admission, because it goes against everything she seemed to stand for until now.
“I can't believe her team would allow her to do this interview. Rihanna's brand is all about powerful girls – ladies who get what they want and don't need a man to complete them,” says the publicist.
“If Rihanna honestly believes what she told Oprah, then it changes everything that we thought she represented,” the PR specialist adds.
Not all though think the interview was a mistake, the Post goes on to note. In fact, a couple of them see the interview as the perfect occasion to present Rihanna to the public as a vulnerable, relatable but very strong woman, the kind women from all over the world would want to look up to.
“I think Rihanna did the right thing by telling the truth about her relationship with Chris Brown. Lying to media is never a good idea, particularly for celebrities who are always in the public eye and can get caught at any time not telling the truth,” Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR, adds.
“As a media trainer I also tell my clients to be honest. The public is not stupid and know when you are not telling the truth. Rihanna is not the first person to still love someone who did something terrible. Doing the interview with Oprah was the right choice,” Amy Rosenblum of Media Masters agrees.
Watch the interview below and tell us what you think: was Rihanna's admission of still loving Chris Brown a mistake or not?