More Rihanna/Brown stuff - Rihanna issues statement
As LA police announced it was investigating how the picture, seemingly taken after the pop star was beaten up by her now ex boyfriend Chris Brown, was leaked to the press, and as the photo was reprinted by media around the world, some expressed the opinion that those publishing it were guilty of a gross invasion of Rihanna's privacy. They're probably right. Some of the most vocal criticism came from domestic violence campaigners in the US, though there wasn't consensus in that community either. Some campaigners thought the image might make people take both this story and domestic abuse in general more seriously.
The publication of the image motivated rapper and TV host Xzhibit to Twitter about the whole affair, and to make the somewhat predictable link between Brown and the late Ike Turner, whose musical achievements were invariably overshadowed in the public consciousness by the allegations he abused Tina Turner during their marriage.
He wrote: "Damn Chris Brown. The photo of Rihanna is making you look like the new Ike Turner. All jokes aside, dude is about to have BIG problems". But he later countered that statement by cautioning people from drawing too many conclusions before all the facts are know, tweeting: "Everybody is going off on Chris Brown now, before we get all the facts. there are 3 sides to EVERY story, lets just wait for the TRUTH", and later: "I am in no way condoning what the media says he did, if it was my sis, I would want answers as well. Just hate 'WITCH HUNTS'".
Elsewhere, as the photo story broke, the first official statement from the Rihanna camp regarding the Brown altercation was issued to the press. Saying very little, the statement read thus: "At the request of the authorities, Rihanna is not commenting about the incident involving Chris Brown. She wants to assure her fans that she remains strong, is doing well, and deeply appreciates the outpouring of support she has received during this difficult time".
Finally from this file, there were rumours this weekend that prosecutors might add attempted murder to the list of charges they file against Brown. As previously reported, he's only been charged with making criminal threats so far, but the police investigation is ongoing and additional more serious charges are expected to be added to the list. That said, the attempted murder charge - based on him shouting "I'm going to kill you" I think - seem a bit unrealistic. Even E! News, who like a bit of OTT gossip more than anyone, cited a LAPD source as saying it would be difficult to make such severe charges stick, especially given the lack of witnesses.
