At age 21, Rihanna has undeniably built quite an empire for herself. Tied with Beyoncé Knowles, she has five #1 hits in this decade (if my source is correct, Mariah Carey is the only American solo artist who has more) and shows no signs of slowing down. Last night ABC aired her interview with Diane Sawyer, where the two mostly discussed the domestic violence she suffered at the hands of Chris Brown.

The website egyptsaidso.com has a great rundown on the interview, and also shows the video. I’m not sure if it’s the entire interview, but if not, you can find Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 on YouTube. Some sites point out that Rihanna’s interview coincides with the debut of her new single, but I honestly don’t think the two are connected. At least I’d hate to think that she would open up about such a personal and painful experience just because she has a new song on the airwaves. Let’s not kid ourselves, she is talented, produces hits and has Jay-Z as a mentor; does she really need 20/20 to boost her star power?

Just Don’t Do It

I will first say that under NO circumstances should a man EVER do what Chris Brown did. The interview showed YouTube clips where people wondered what Rihanna may have done to set him off, which is what always happens when women are physically abused – people blame the female victim. There were MANY other ways that situation could have ended differently, and the simple fact is that Chris Brown severely injured Rihanna with repeated blows, headlocks and bites. It’s unacceptable.

Rihanna Speaks Out

Although there are some who think Rihanna’s interview felt rehearsed or that it was a publicity stunt, I honestly didn’t get that impression when watching her speak. First of all, she is very well spoken (especially for her age) and more genuine than I expected her to be. At one point she said she went to bed as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears, which I thought was interesting. Here she was saying she didn’t want the kind of attention and fame that surrounds a person like Britney. All in all, I felt she did a great job of opening up and explaining her feelings about the whole situation. It remains to be seen what will come of all of this, but for now Rihanna seems to be continuing her career and putting the events of that night behind her.

Brown’s Apology (and MTV Interview)

Although the incident occurred on February 8th, Brown’s public apology didn’t appear until July 20th. Part of this was no doubt because of the legal proceedings and him being told by his handlers to avoid doing so. I watched that apology when it surfaced and it felt to me (and many others) that he was reading from a teleprompter or something. Hell, even Kanye West (after storming on stage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance at the VMA’s) seemed to be sincere in his apology on The Jay Leno Show. He fumbled with his words but he looked genuinely distressed that he had done that to Swift. Not to say that what he did wasn’t terrible, but he didn’t physically abuse her like Brown did to Rihanna. And yet Brown comes off seeming scripted and trying to save his career, rather than being honestly sorry that he abused Rihanna.

I’m not going to get into the MTV interview (that aired on the same day as the 20/20 interview), because honestly, I haven’t watched much of it. You can see parts 1, 2, 3 on YouTube and judge for yourself how you feel about Chris Brown.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3