Rihanna Starts Crying While Discussing Chris Brown With Oprah

Getting punched in the face by Chris Brown led Rihanna to feel bad for her former boyfriend. Apparently the punch hurt her feelings more than her face.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey which will air on Sunday night on OWN, Rihanna says she “lost her best friend” during Grammy night 2009, and then she described her feelings immediately following that incident. According to RiRi:

“It was a weird, confusing space to be in … because as angry as I was, as angry and hurt and betrayed, I just felt like he made that mistake because he needed help … and who’s going to help him?”

The pop singer than adds:

“Nobody’s going to say he needs help. Everybody’s going to say he’s a monster without looking at the source … and I was more concerned about him.”

That of course was not a singled out incident. During a Good Morning America segment Chris Brown didn’t agree with, he threw a chair through a window following his interview.

Chris Brown pled guilty to felony assault over the 2009 face punching incident, and he was given 5 years probation and ordered into anger management classes.

Rihanna further says of the assault against her:

“I lost my best friend … everything I knew switched … switched in a night and I couldn’t control that.”

Since the time of her beat down, Rihanna and Chris Brown have been seen at the same clubs at the same time, leading to much speculation about the status of their relationship.

Rihanna recently revealed in an interview that she is afraid to love again following the Chris Brown incident.

Here’s a first look at the Oprah interview with Rihanna:

The segment airs Sunday, August 19 at 9/8c.