Rihanna has appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, shot by Annie Leibovitz, and in the candid interview, she talks about her relationship with Chris Brown, and how she wanted to get back with the rapper after an incident of domestic violence because she thought she could change him.
Rihanna was attacked by Brown the night before the 2009 Grammys, and photos of the abuse were leaked to TMZ. But the singer admitted that while she and the rapper did not really have a relationship anymore, her feelings for him remained.
Describing Brown as her last real boyfriend, Rihanna said: "I was very protective of him. I felt that people didn't understand him. Even after", adding "I don’t hate him. I will care about him until the day I die".
Rihanna also added that she blamed herself as well as him when she rekindled her romance with Brown in 2012, and in 2013, asked the judge to list a restraining order put in place by the court.
“I was that girl,” she says, “that girl who felt that as much pain as this relationship is, maybe some people are built stronger than others. Maybe I’m one of those people built to handle s**t like this. Maybe I’m the person who’s almost the guardian angel to this person, to be there when they’re not strong enough, when they’re not understanding the world, when they just need someone to encourage them in a positive way and say the right thing.”
She said she thought she could "a hundred percent" change him but realised "if you put up with it, maybe you are agreeing that you (deserve) this".
Rihanna also spoke out about being labelled a 'poster girl' for domestic abuse:
"Well, I just never understood that,” she said, “like how the victim gets punished over and over. It’s in the past, and I don’t want to say ‘Get over it,’ because it’s a very serious thing that is still relevant".
She added: "But, for me, and anyone who’s been a victim of domestic abuse, nobody wants to even remember it. Nobody even wants to admit it. So to talk about it and say it once, much less 200 times, is like … I have to be punished for it? It didn’t sit well with me.”