Los Angeles:
The We Found Love hitmaker admits the time following the incident in February 2009 was "confusing" because she felt her then-boyfriend - who she split from after his attack on her - needed help and people could only see him as a "monster".
She said: "I felt like the only person they hate right now is him. It was a weird, confusing space to be in. Because as angry as I was - as angry and hurt and betrayed - I just felt like he made that mistake because he needed help. And who's going to help him? Nobody's going to say he needs help, everybody's going to say he's a monster, without looking at the source. And I was more concerned about him."
Rihanna admitted the incident - for which Chris Brown was subsequently convicted of battery and sentenced to 80 hours of community labour, five years probation and required to attend a 12-month domestic violence counseling programme - turned her world upside down because she "lost everything" that was familiar.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey's OWN show Oprah's Next Chapter, she said: "I lost my best friend... everything I knew switched -- switched in a night. And I couldn't control that. It's not easy to interpret on camera, not with the world watching."
Read: Rihanna tweets 'self-esteem destroying' Beyonce pic
She said: "I felt like the only person they hate right now is him. It was a weird, confusing space to be in. Because as angry as I was - as angry and hurt and betrayed - I just felt like he made that mistake because he needed help. And who's going to help him? Nobody's going to say he needs help, everybody's going to say he's a monster, without looking at the source. And I was more concerned about him."
Rihanna admitted the incident - for which Chris Brown was subsequently convicted of battery and sentenced to 80 hours of community labour, five years probation and required to attend a 12-month domestic violence counseling programme - turned her world upside down because she "lost everything" that was familiar.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey's OWN show Oprah's Next Chapter, she said: "I lost my best friend... everything I knew switched -- switched in a night. And I couldn't control that. It's not easy to interpret on camera, not with the world watching."
Read: Rihanna tweets 'self-esteem destroying' Beyonce pic
