Rihanna: I won’t turn my back on lover who beat me up
HE left her bruised and battered in a sickening attack three years ago.
But Rihanna says she still won’t end contact with her ex-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown – and even described the episode as a ‘liberation’.
The singer’s frank admission came amid claims she is rebelling against her management, who are said to have banned her from seeing Brown, 22.
Discussing the attack and subsequent break-up in an interview with the U.S. edition of Elle magazine, the 24-year-old suggested the episode had helped her open up to the public. ‘It gave me guns. I was like, well, f***,’ she said.
‘They [the public] know more about me than I want them to know. It’s embarrassing. But that was my opening. That was my liberation, my moment of bring it.’ There has been constant speculation sur-
‘I’m going to do what I want’
rounding a reconciliation between the pair.
They have collaborated on two tracks since the break-up, with Brown recently featuring on a remix of Rihanna’s song Birthday Cake.
The pair have also been seen together at a string of showbusiness events. Last year Rihanna even allowed the conditions of Brown’s restraining order to be relaxed.
The couple, who dated for two years, split after the attack in 2009. Brown was sentenced to 180 hours community service and five years probation. But Rihanna has refused to bow to critics who say she should avoid all contact with Brown. ‘People end up wasting their time on the blogs ranting away, and that’s all right,’ she said. ‘Because tomorrow I’m still going to be the same person. I’m still going to do what I want to do.’
Rihanna’s comments came as it emerged she had apparently ignored advice from her management team to stay away from Brown.
A source told a U.S. newspaper: ‘Her management banned her from reuniting with Chris, but she said she’ll do whatever the hell she wants to.
‘Rihanna is rebelling. She says they have been working her too hard and she wants some time to herself. They fear she’ll secretly record an album with Brown, just to defy them.’
Rihanna is currently touring in Japan, while Brown is in Los Angeles. He is working on his fifth studio album, Fortune, which is set to be released on May 8.
Although Rihanna has said she is ‘single and happy’, some of her posts on Twitter seem to suggest otherwise. On March 31, she wrote: ‘If u don’t want me, someone else will… if I’m not good enough!’