Rihanna recently confirmed to Hot 97 that it was really her in those nude photos someone leaked last May. “They were for my boyfriend at the time,” she told the station, “if you don’t send your boyfriend naked pictures, then I feel bad for him.” Yes, even with the public embarrassment she suffered after they leaked (”I thought, ‘Oh great, so now there’s nothing they don’t know about me and my private life’”), Rihanna is standing firm that providing naked photos of yourself is a lady’s romantic obligation. Making mom blush is just collateral damage.
“It was humiliating and it was embarrassing—especially my mom having to see that,” she continued, explaining that she sent flowers before breaking the news. “I was nervous [but] when the world is against me, she’s always there supporting.” Considering the same can’t be said about Chris Brown (who denied leaking the photos), maybe she should reconsider her stance on boudoir photography. [Photo: WENN]
Rihanna is back and in the full swing of things again. After Rihanna’s shocking 20/20 interview, where she spoke publicly for the first time about Chris Brown beating her, now she is back to doing what she does best: performing for a packed crowd! RiRi made a surprise appearance at Jay-Z’s concert at UCLA last night, and belted out Run This Town with the rapper. Go Rihanna!
Rihanna may finally be speaking to the press about her relationship with Chris Brown, but she isn’t telling everyone the same story. The singer is set to explain what happened between them that night before the Grammies in a two-part interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC (the first on Good Morning America this Thursday, follow by a 20/20 spot Friday night), with promos announcing that Brown was “her first big love.” But according to her interview in the new issue of Glamour, she’s never been in love at all.
When asked where she saw herself in ten years, Rihanna told the magazine, “I hope I find love in the next 10 years - that will be pretty annoying if I am 31 and still have never been in love!” But no matter how she felt about Brown before, she hopes her traumatic experience can help others. “Teenage girls can’t tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up. You don’t dare let your neighbor know that you fight. It’s one of the things we [women] will hide, because it’s embarrassing. My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery. The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn’t heard. Now I can help speak for those women.”
Chris Brown, convicted of beating Rihanna, appeared to have met his match in “bad girl” Natalie Nunn, star of “The Bad Girls Club,” which deals with girls with “behavioral issues.” The ex-UCLA ball player lists in her bio for the show that she “enjoys cruising in her sugar daddies expensive cars and painting the town red with her cool celebrity friends.” Looked like a match made in heaven, but Chris Brown took to his Twitter to deny the whole thing. “Tmz…omg,” Chris wrote to the gossip site, “U guys have nothing better to do. And by the way. I don’t mess wit that girl.” [Source: TMZ; Photo: Getty Images]
Sometimes all you can say is “blergh.” That’s our reaction to the news that Chris Brown - the man who beat Rihanna and was somehow redeemed by a viral video and “The Office” - is planning a “fan appreciation” tour. The singer will hit the road on November 14 and is playing smaller theaters to encourage a “fans only” vibe, according to tour organizers. Sure - or maybe Chris’ peeps are afraid no one’s gonna show up. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to Best Buddies International. Call us cynical, but surely that’s being done to help re-vamp his tarnished image, right?
In a press release announcing the tour, Chris discusses his musical goals, saying, “I wanted to change it up and really be different. Like my style nowadays, I don’t try to be typical urban. I want to be like how Prince and Michael [Jackson] and Stevie Wonder were. They can cross over to any genre of music.”
Rihanna’s father, Ronald Fenty, is obviously protective of his daughter after she was assaulted by Chris Brown, but he has found something to laugh at as a result of this whole situation. Speaking to US Weekly, Fenty said that he was amused after seeing Brown dolled up in his best good-boy outfit on Larry King Live to plead his case. “The costume he wore was so funny,” Fenty said. “That bow tie thing. He needs to bury that.”
Agreed, that baby blue bow tie should have never left the joke shop in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. [Photo: Splash News Online]
The full lineup will be announced later this morning, but Jermaine Jackson has already confirmed that Chris Brown is one of the stars who’ll be performing at the tribute concert to his brother Michael in Vienna, Austria on September 26.
The worldwide event will see up to 25 acts perform some of Jackson’s greatest hits in front of an audience of 65,000 at the concert, not to mention a global audience of millions. If he’s aiming to rehabilitate his career after the shocking attack on ex-(current?) girlfriend Rihanna earlier this year, Chris has managed to pick one of the most prestigious and emotional events to make his official comeback. Other acts currently announced include Akon and Angela Bassett, although further press conferences in London and Berlin will see further names rolled out. [Photo: Splash News Online]
Could Rihanna and Chris Brown really be so desperate to get around the restraining order he’s been slapped with that they’ll try and meet up in a different country? That’s the latest story coming out about the are-they-aren’t-they couple, claiming that they’re planning a vacation to Acapulco, Mexico, next month in order to circumnavigate the order that bans Chris from coming within 50 yards of Ri in the next five years in the U.S.
“They spoke to their lawyers to see what was allowed, and are now planning two weeks in Mexico. They want to spend some quality time together and know they have a lot to reconcile before they can make their relationship public again,” claims British celebrity mag Star.
Chris has famously already stated that he still “loves” the woman he beat up and choked that night back in February, and rumors have constantly swirled that the two still had feelings for each other and had already hooked up. Are they really going to make a go of it again? We guess only time will tell. [Photo: WireImage]
Chris Brown has been working on repairing his public image, but someone should tell him there are certain topics, like dissing Oprah, that won’t win him any fans. The singer mouthed off yesterday about Winfrey because the talk show host filmed a show about domestic abuse that was inspired by Rihanna. Brown took offense to the fact that Oprah didn’t include him in the show, saying: “I commend Oprah on being like ‘This is a problem,’ but it was a slap in my face. I did a lot of stuff for her, like going to Africa and performing for her school. She could have been more helpful, like, ‘Okay, I’m going to help both of these people out.” Hey Chris, you know what was a slap in the face to Rihanna? You slapping her in the face. We can understand why Oprah, a victim of abuse herself, would opt not to include you.
Of course, Oprah is not one to sit idly while being criticized, a rep for her released this statement after hearing Brown’s complaint. “Oprah is very appreciative that Chris Brown performed at her school but she takes domestic violence very seriously. She hopes he gets the counseling he needs.” Advantage, Oprah. Care to take another swing, Chris? [Photo: Getty Images and WireImage; Source: TMZ]
Chris Brown taped a much-anticipated and much-speculated about interview with Larry King last week and it finally aired last night. Brown dressed in his Sunday best blue bow tie, sat with his mother Joyce and his lawyer, and answered most questions honestly, expressing his relief that the media spectacle surrounding him was winding down. As remorseful as he seemed, he opted not to go into details about the night of his fight with Rihanna. Brown acknowledged the abuse and confessed that he loves Rihanna and is still in love with her, despite the protection order that separates them. When King asked Brown why he was violent and what the cause of the fight was, Brown refused to answer “out of respect for [Rihanna's] privacy”, but we feel it was more likely out of embarrassment for whatever actually transpired.
Brown also claims not to remember doing what he did the night of the Grammy’s, and his mother said she was shocked because, despite the reports that Brown and Rihanna had a history of violence between them, she says they never had any previous altercations. (Brown said of the incidents “I’m not aware of those.”) While the answers Chris provides are not terribly revealing, King does ask pointed questions and shows Brown the pictures of a battered Rihanna and it’s clear that he knows what he did was wrong, but it’s nothing we didn’t hear from his taped video apology, honestly. Brown’s mother proved to be more emotional and revealing, discussing her own relationship with Rihanna and her personal history of violence.
This situation is obviously something people have already made up their minds about — Brown does regret it though and emphasizes how wrong it was. Does the interview succeed in changing the public’s opinion about him?
Watch more video from the interview after the jump.
