New Developments in the Rihanna/Chris Brown Case
November 12,2009
Pop sensation Rihanna is speaking out about the night her then-boyfriend Chris Brown beat her, saying it was "humiliating" and "traumatizing" to admit the assault took place and that it was "wrong" that she went back to Brown afterwards. "It was a wake-up call. It was a wake-up call for me. Big time," Rihanna told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Diane Sawyer in her first television interview discussing the assault. "I will say that to any young girl who is going through domestic violence, don't react off of love. F love. Come out of the situation and look at it in the third person and for what it really is."
The pop star said it was "embarrassing" that Brown was the type of person she fell in love with. So far in love. So unconditional that I went back. It's humiliating to say this happened. To accept that? It's a traumatizing experience," she said. Her decision to go back to Brown, she said, was a mistake.
"I stayed. I even went back after he beat me, which was wrong," she said. "But again ... I'm a human being and people put me on a very unrealistic pedestal. And all these expectations, I'm not perfect."
The 21-year-old star acknowledged that Brown held her in a headlock twice that night and bit her on the ear and fingers. She told Sawyer that she did not try to fight back. "I just wanted it to stop. I was not interested in hurting him back," she said.
After months of silence since the February beating, Rihanna decided to speak publicly about the ordeal so she can be a voice to help others who may be in danger of returning to abuse. "It's completely normal to go back. It's not right. I learned the hard way, but again, this is what I want people to know," she said. "When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result in some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part. I couldn't be held responsible for going back.
March 6, 2009
“Sadly, the alleged violent assault of Rihanna by Chris Brown is not unique -- women and girls in every community experience violence every day," said Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler. "While there are many unanswered questions, the police report seems to suggest that this was an extremely violent and sustained assault. If it is true, it is deeply disturbing. As with all dating and domestic violence cases, the criminal justice system has an obligation to ensure that the perpetrator is held accountable.
Without question, Chris Brown is entitled to the same presumption of innocence as anyone else charged with a crime, but we should all remember that violence is never acceptable. Nothing a victim does, and nothing in a perpetrator’s background, ever justifies violence. Those who commit violence must be held accountable, and their victims need and deserve protection, support and privacy.
It is important to remember that leaving a relationship often is a process. This kind of violence takes a severe emotional toll, and each woman must weigh numerous factors and decide what is her best course of action. Nobody should blame Rihanna if she has not yet left this relationship; we should instead be asking why Chris Brown may have resorted to violence.
Unfortunately in most cases, abusers don’t change without professional help and accountability. Chris Brown has talked in the past about the trauma he experienced growing up in a home in which there was domestic violence. Kids in that situation need help, and he may not have gotten it. Certainly, that does not excuse any crime he may have committed, but it is a reminder that we can and must do much more to help kids who witness abuse.”
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