NEW YORK -- Rihanna on Friday described the horror she felt
as her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown was biting and punching her during
a violent argument in February, saying she saw "no soul in his
eyes."
"There was no person when I looked at him," the 21-year-old
singer recalled during the second installment of an interview
airing on ABC's "Good Morning America." "He had no soul in his
eyes. Just blank."
Brown was arrested Feb. 8, hours after he was accused of beating
Rihanna after the two argued over another woman. He later pleaded
guilty to felony assault.
In the interview, Rihanna, who is no longer with Brown,
described him as "definitely my first big love." She said their
relationship was intense.
"The more in love we became, the more dangerous we became for
each other -- equally as dangerous," she said. "It was a bit of an
obsession almost."
The attack occurred in Los Angeles' Hancock Park neighborhood as
Brown drove a rented sports car. She said it was triggered when she
saw a text message on his phone from another woman and confronted
him about it. She said he lied about it and "I wouldn't drop it."
A search warrant affidavit filed in the case stated that Brown
hit, choked and bit Rihanna and tried at one point to push her from
the car.
"It was ugly," she said.
During the beating, the singer said she had no idea how it would
end: "That's all I kept thinking the whole time, 'When is it going
to stop? When is it going to stop?"'
Brown was sentenced to five years' probation, six months of
community labor and a year of domestic violence counseling after he
pleaded guilty to felony assault.
In portions of the interview aired Thursday, Rihanna warned
other women facing domestic violence to not let themselves become
blinded by love. She also said she regretted going back to Brown,
saying it sent the wrong message to her fans.
Brown, 20, has apologized to fans and has said he has repeatedly
apologized to Rihanna for the attack. Brown will recount his
perspective in an interview to air Friday on MTV.
Despite the beating, Rihanna said she still cares about Brown.
"I don't hate him at all," she said. "I actually love and
care about him and I'm concerned about him doing well. I want him
to do well -- have a great career, have a great life, and grow up.
Just take this as something that you had to go through to grow up
and learn."
Rihanna's interview coincides with the debut of her new single,
"Russian Roulette," from her upcoming album, "Rated R." More of
the ABC interview will be included in Friday evening's news
magazine "20/20."
