Rihanna Breaks Her Silence
For the first time since the incident with Chris Brown in February, Rihanna is sharing her story.
In an exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” and “20/20,” Rihanna tells Diane why she decided to finally speak out and what it was like to realize how her situation effects other young girls who are victims of abuse.
Watch a clip from Rihanna’s interview at abcnews.com.
Find out Wendy’s thoughts on Rihanna’s interview and Chris Brown.
Tell Us: What do you think about Rihanna’s interview?
If you are in an abusive relationship, you don’t have to be alone. Here are a few resources where you can get help.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit, ndvh.org. For the hearing impaired call, 1-800-787-3224.
Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-548-2722
The National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline
1-866-331-9474 or log on to, loveisrespect.org
Tuesday November 24th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
hey wendy i think peolpe should move on from what happen . if you hit some one they are going to hit u back soo . what ever in the car should was asking for it i do not care what any one say i love him and if i see rihanna i will do more damaged. she lied her butt off when she was telling her slide and i hate that girl with all my heart …………. how u doing
Monday November 9th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Rihanna was disingenuous and her emotions were forced. Unbelieveable, to say the least. However, this does NOT excuse Chris. But boy did she throw him under the bus and drive over him a few times. Like she said, she HAD to leave Chris. She has an “EMPIRE” to protect.
Sunday November 8th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
wendy Rihanna is full of it. watching that 20/20 just showed that i was correct about her.1st she showed that she made him black out. you can tell she was lieing alot. i know that doesnt make it right what he did but she seems like she know how to push someone to the point.She only did the interview because she has a CD coming out. Rihanna know damn well she is still with Chris.diane sawyer asked her did you do something to make him black out and her answer was ( mmmm.NO but it still dont give him the right to hurt me)…My sister works on 5th ave have met Rihanna and she can tell you. Rihanna is very stuck up and has a nasty attuide. well LOVE YOU WENDY ” HOW U DOING”
Sunday November 8th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
No, man is to hit and/or abuse any woman but now it is time for people to let both Rihanna & Chris grow and heal from this experience which will including letting them both continue with their careers. By Chris physically abusing Rihanna he has and will continue to pay for his actions but he is a gifted singer/performer who needs to make a living as he was doing in the past before Feb. 09.
By now I do believe his has gotten the message and with the proper professional help as well if he is really willing and ready to help himself, he will become a better man but we the public cannot force someone to change unless they are ready and willing to change and accept help.
As with all abused people I hope Rihanna is getting the proper professional help that she needs and wants.
This is a learning experience of all of us not just Rihanna & Chris.
Sunday November 8th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Wendy i was very upset as to how she went with that interview. My biggest problem was she did not that on any blame for how it went down. She kept saying that it was his fault and that he needs to take the blame on everything. Now with that said i feel like he is doing what he has to and take blame in order to get where he needs to be. Now she needs to check her self and say ‘ YES i did have a part in this ‘ because i believe that there is a lot that was not what we hear from you and the media. She said that she got out of the car and walked but the police report said that they found a women in a car screaming and crying in the car. did anyone else hear that? Another thing that bother me was how she was talking about how immature he was and hoe the word now didn’t mean anything to him, that was taking things to far about his life. She is out to hurt his career and to bring up album sales for her own damage career. I hope that all of the truth about that night will come out. In the mean time i love your show and thanks for reading.
Sunday November 8th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
please remember….there is her side, his side and then the truth
Sunday November 8th, 2009 at 6:38 am
hi wendy,
i watched the interview with rihanna and diane sawyer. i must say rihanna is a piece of work. she still is in denial about it, what i got from the interview towards the end. was she will still go out with him, if he asked. if you get the chance to check out the interview(part where diane sawyer says something about would you go back with him) rihanna reply i can’t predict the future only god can. i mean really! did she go there. you can’t talk like that with young girls watching you on a tv in a interview. i believe young girls will follow that. you know ok he beat me up but he serve his time for the crime. let me go back to him. no i don’t think so. it might be true that chris brown has changed. that is not the point. she should leave it be. move on to someone else. i like chris brown. i think he serve his time. people should move on. get over it. let’s continue to support him. and someone to put out there that young and older people should keep their hands to themselvers no matter what the situation is.
p s thanks wendy for reading my email keep up the great work on your show.
Saturday November 7th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Hey Wendy- How you doin?
I really appreciated Rihanna finally breaking her silence. I know some felt like it was just because it was right around the time her album was coming out. I think while her handlers might have been like this is the time to speak, on her part she was just ready to speak her mind.
I come from a Bajan family and I totally understand why it took so long for her to speak. Bajans do not like to air their dirty laundry if they can help it. It is not something that as a culture we are encouraged to do. So on her part she would never have released that picture so I can understand when she is like that she was embarrased.
Also you are taught to stand by your man. Although she had seen the damage abuse had done to her mother, she immediately felt the need to protect him. Sadly that is a trend you see in many caribbean households.
But thankfully she had enough people around her and enough media pressure to step away from that situation. She finally realized that the example she was setting was not a good one. Now she’s stronger than ever.
Some people were like it was her fault or somehting and that is pure ignorance. No man has the right to put his hands on a woman. He could have pulled the car over and gotten out or dropped her home and ignored her. When I watched him on Larry King I kind of felt like he didn’t understand why so many people had left him. But it’s like some times sorry isn’t enough. I was turned off because it took him so long to go to therapy. He was at the clubs and jet skiing. BUt hopefully he is getting it together and I think it is a great thing that they can’t see each other for like 5 years.
I’m all for encouraging him but I don’t want him to be another R.Kelly. We make excuses because they are so gifted and we like their music but if he’s a repeat offender then I’m done.
Saturday November 7th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Wendy I think it is more to the story with Rhianna and Chris Brown. There have been reports of Rhianna hiting and scratching Chris. Her interview made me think that she had something to hide. No man should ever put his hand on a woman but that should also be trure for a woman putting her hands on a man. What I still missed out of the interview is how did it start. She said she wouldnt let a text message he got from another woman go and kept going in on him. was she slapping him and yelling at him as we know some women do until he snapped? I think if you are going to tell it all tell it all not just what will make you look like a victim. She didn’t spare any details about the mouth full of blood or the rest of the fight. I don’t want anyone to think that i think it is ok for a woman to get abused or that she asks for it in any way it is wrong. However, I have seen many cases that the women provokes ie hits, pushes, slaps, spits on the man until finally he snaps and the man is the one who gets the backlash because he is finaly snapped and reacts. We should walk away from a situation but very few people can say if you were hit, slapped, pushed and jumped on you would have the strength or control to walk away. I think it is more to the story and Rhianna is not the sweet innocent little victim she is pretending to be.
Saturday November 7th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Sorry I’m not buying it. I refused to watch her interview. I would only believe half of anything she would say. If it was so important for her to speak out and help others she would have done it along time ago, not when her new album is about to drop!!!!!
Saturday November 7th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Wendy I think this young, beautiful girl is in a lot of pain but trying to do the right thing. She was honest and heartfelt. Oh what a beautiful couple they made. As a emotional abuse victim I get her on lying to your self and if she can help just one woman get out but going public and saying what she has and is going through then she won. I love it when Diane Sawyer said that she appears to be a strong woman and Rhianna said “I am strong. I didn’t do this, it happened to me” MMMMHHHH!!! That was awesome. Love you friend in my head.
Saturday November 7th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Wendy, I now you love your light brown an blonde hair. But the chocolate and black hair was the absolute best!!! That is your color and very becoming. Your aways Fab but you gave all the celebrity divas a run for their money on Thursday’s show.
Lisa Marie
Saturday November 7th, 2009 at 1:16 am
wendy first loved the wig beautiful second im srry but Rihanna just put that interview out just to boost her album sales forgive Chris and move on i was abused for three years but for some reason i believe she started this some how i dont think she so innocent i dont know but how u doin Wendy?
Friday November 6th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Wow Rihanna had a surprisingly good interview with Diane Sawyer tonight… She was very honest! She got emotional everytime she talked about her responsibility to the young girls of the world. Her interview was much more believable than Chris Brown’s. It is not easy to air your dirty laundry. I know abuse in my home, and have experience an episode or two from my first boyfriend. I have grown so much, and have not looked back. If I had to talk about what I went through today being at the educational level I am I would be embarrassed like she said that at one point in time I was STUPID!!! So even though she was interviewed this late, better late than never… I have Rihanna’s previous album and love it to this day…can’t wait for the new one… I wish her continued success
Friday November 6th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
THEY REALLY NEED TO LEAVE CHRIS BROWN ALONE. NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT CAR BUT THEM. HE ISN’T THE FIRST NOR THE LAST STAR TO HIT A WOMAN SO WHY IS HE UNDER SO MUCH FIRE. HE MADE A MISTAKE I DON’T THINK HIS CAREER SHOULD END BECAUSE OF IT. NO ONE DESERVES TO BE BEAT ON BUT NO ONE KNOWS WHAT ELSE WAS GOING ON IN THAT RELATIONSHIP. IN HER INTERVIEW SHE PRETTY MUCH SAID SHE USE TO HIT HIM ALSO.
Friday November 6th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Hey Wendy! I feel yes you know chris brown put his hands on her but why? why didnt Barbra ask her did she start to put her hands on him first. An argument is an argument but when people get physical its bc the other person put there hands on the other person first. I cant understand why would he put his hands on a female if he watched his mom get abused. its not adding up. yes he apologized more than a million times but that should not take away from his career. everyone makes misakes and no one is perfect people should forgive and forget. The same with R.Kelly he did all those nasty things to that young girl but yet people still listen to his music. Micheal Jackson being accused of having sex with little boys but yet we listened to his music, watch his videos, and go see him in concert. Doesn’t Chris Brown deserve a second chance like everyone else?
Friday November 6th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Hi Wendy,
I was watching the show and had to pause when you showed Sheree’s ex-husband’s photo!!!! OMG I can’t believe it! She is such a Diva and rides on her own pedestal that i was completely shocked to see that he was cocked-eyed!!! I don’t want to be insensitive but what is that?
Too funny!
Love your new wig and you dress was fab!!!!
Friday November 6th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I watched the interview and yesterday on the show you said that chris brown beat rihanna eight or nine times. I think you may have it wrong. I think she was just correcting the statistic that Diane Sawyer said it takes six or seven times for most women to leave. Now all of your viewers are gonna really think he beat her on numerous occasions. I feel like there needs to be some sort or retraction on your part.
p.s. i am not on either side so don’t think i am a chris brown supporter, i just don’t want misinformation to be reported because people believe most of what they hear on television.
Friday November 6th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Wendy I love your show and I love even more how you say what’s on your mind. Well I Feel Rhianna is full of it. I do not support abuse but I do not support women who play victim either. My mother and grandmother were abused in different ways, but both physical. My mother would actually hit my father first at times. On the other hand my grandmother’s husband hit her for looking at him wrong. These are two different cases. A woman should not hit a man, not even slap him when she is upset. A man hurts just like a woman. I am tired of women who hit first taking advantage of the system and playing victim. Rhianna is one of these women to me who takes no responsibility for her actions, but wants to point the finger. Her album is coming out and now she wants to speak???? This girl is not the face of abuse she is the face of immaturity. Where r the pics of Chris from that night? It is too many gaps in both stories. No one was there and Chris has to still love her, because he is not saying much but “sorry”. I feel he is protecting her; it was evident in his interview. At the end of the day if she was abuse then he (Chris brown) should be considered abused also. Women should never hit a man if they do not want to be hit. Life is not black and white as society teaches us. Women want to be seen as equals but treated as victims. Abuse happens to men also, but “we” do not speak about that. Example the Lady from New York Housewives who bet her boyfriend worse than Rhianna! I Heard that story for two days, He even tried to speak about it, but no one in the media covered it??? This needs to stop! To the parents and people who wanted Rhianna to speak out against abuse; needs to evaluate themselves and the source whom their seeking wisdom from.
Friday November 6th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
OH BY THE WAY. I have not bought any of their CDs but How many of US would be in trouble if things we did in our 20′s or high school remained unforgiven? Don’t let the money fool you at the end of the day they are still kids in my eyes.