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LOS ANGELES - Pop star Rihanna said Thursday she was "wrong" to reconcile with boyfriend Chris Brown after he assaulted her, saying she did not want other victims of domestic abuse to follow her example.
In an interview broadcast on ABC's "Good Morning America", the Barbados-born singer said returning to Brown after he had bitten and scratched her during the attack had been a mistake which arose because she was "so far in love."
"That's embarrassing that that's the type of person that I fell in love with," the 21-year-old said in her first televised interview about the assault.
"So far in love. So unconditional that I went back. It's humiliating to say this happened. To accept that? It's a traumatizing experience."
"I stayed. I even went back after he beat me, which was wrong," she said.
"But again... I'm a human being and people put me on a very unrealistic pedestal.
And all these expectations, I'm not perfect."
R&B star Brown was sentenced to five years of probation and 180 days of community labour in August after pleading guilty to charges stemming from his brutal late-night attack in Los Angeles on the eve of the Grammy Awards.
Rihanna said she had decided to speak about the attack because she did not want other women to follow her example of returning to an abusive partner.
"It's completely normal to go back. It's not right. I learned the hard way, but again, this is what I want people to know," the "Umbrella" singer said.
"When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result in some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part. I couldn't be held responsible for going back.
"Even if Chris never hit me again, who is to say that their boyfriend won't? Who's to say that they won't kill these girls?" she said.
"These are young girls and I just didn't realize how much of an impact I had on these girls' lives until that happened."
Brown posted a video apology over the assault in July, begging forgiveness from fans for his "inexcusable behaviour."
"I have told Rihanna countless times, and I'm telling you today, that I am truly, truly sorry that I wasn't able to handle the situation differently and better," he told fans. - AFP/vm
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