Rihanna has broken her silence about her beating at the hands of Chris Brown, just in time to promote her new album.
The singer didn’t talk particulars in an interview with Glamour, but did discuss the aftermath. Unfortunately it was only a brief exchange in a much longer
conversation, and it looks to many like an opportunistic method of promoting her new album.
Here’s how it went down:
Glamour: Do you feel that this experience has laid the groundwork for coping with anything so public again?
Rihanna: It has taught me so much. I felt like I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears. That was the level of media chaos
that happened the next day. It was like, What, there are helicopters circling my house? There are 100 people in my cul-de-sac? What do you mean, I can’t go back home?
Glamour: If you could offer a message to the millions of young women who look up to you, what would you tell someone who found herself in a similar situation?
Rihanna: Domestic violence is a big secret. No kid goes around and lets people know their parents fight. Teenage girls can’t tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up. You
don’t dare let your neighbor know that you fight. It’s one of the things we (women) will hide, because it’s embarrassing. My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery. The positive thing that has come out of my
situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn’t heard. Now I can help speak for
those women.
Glamour: I think that’s a great message. What about your new album? What’s it like?
That’s it. Rihanna says she wants to give insight but gives none. She says she can speak for victims but makes no mention of proactively helping them move past shame to protect themselves. In fact,
the timing of such a vague statement makes many wonder what her true motivation is: awareness of self-promotion?
The other side of the coin has to do with a celebrity’s right to privacy versus the responsibility that comes with playing a public role. Does the seriousness of this social issue cancel out any
expectation of privacy Rihanna may have? Does she have a responsibility to be the face of domestic violence because of her influence on teens and young adults?
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