Rihanna on Oprah’s Next Chapter
The episode really lived up to its expectations, showing the viewers a different side of Rihanna, a side of her they hadn’t seen before.
During the beginning of the interview, Rihanna began to tear up when talking about her grandmother, who passed away in July. “She was a well-rounded woman,” said Rihanna. “She taught me about forgiveness… and the one thing she wants me to do is marry someone who loves me more than I love them.”
However, the primary thing that has got everyone buzzing were the responses Rihanna made in response to her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown, and the notorious assault of her by him.
“The night before the 2009 Grammy Awards, Brown assaulted the singer, leaving the now 24-year-old battered and bruised. Brown was sentenced to five years’ probation, community labor and one year of domestic-violence counseling,” reported Abbey Jennifer, ABC News.
Rihanna, it seems, felt more concerned about him during the whole situation than herself. It looks as if everyone had suddenly turned him into the bad guy without going to the source.
“I think he was the love of my life,” said Rihanna. “He was my first love and I see that he loved me the same way… I truly love him—the main thing for me is he’s at peace. I’m not at peace if he’s not happy or he’s still lonely.”
She confirmed that she and Brown have been working on their friendship and denied all rumors about the two being together again. “He’s in a relationship of his own, I’m single, but we have maintained a very close friendship ever since the restarting order has been dropped.”
“We were very young, and very spontaneous. We ran free, we ran wild. We were falling in love and going in a really rapid place that we forgot about ourselves as individuals. We forgot about our personal discipline. We needed something to completely shut that off and show us what we were missing, what we were taking for granted, said Rihanna.
“All kinds of emotions started happening after that,” said Rihanna. “All kinds of things started making sense. I thought I hated Chris and I realized it was love that was tarnished. It looked like hate because it was ugly, it was angry, it was inflamed, it was tainted and I realized that what it was is – I have to forgive him, because I cared about him still. And the minute I let go of that, I started living again.”
When asked about what it feels like to see him, Rihanna responds with “It’s awkward… My stomach drops and I have to maintain this poker face and not let it get to the outer part of me.”
Overall, Rihanna has forgiven Brown for his actions, and completely understands if certain fans do not by simply saying, “I can’t tell people how to feel about it. They’re entitled to feel angry because it was not a good thing that happened. But I have, and that’s my personal thing.”
Sophomore Makayla Perking said, “I actually enjoyed watching the interview. I liked how Rihanna was honest, funny and emotional.”
“Everything was well said in this interview,” said sophomore Soulina Sikeo. “There’s bound to be more talk about this topic in the future, but everything she said was honest and entertaining.”
Overall, Rihanna gave a rare, heartfelt interview on Oprah’s Next Chapter while talking about her personal life, and relationship with her fans. “It’s amazing how lonely you can feel, and nobody can understand,” said Rihanna about the importance of her fans.
“The moment you are vulnerable, someone reaches out… They go through the same things. I want them to feel comfortable knowing that I flaws as well. I want them to know those flaws. I’m afraid of the pedestal… I want to be a peer to my fans.”
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