Chris Brown Finally Comes Clean About Rihanna Beating on Larry King

Brown: "I Wish I Could Take It All Back."

SHEILA MARIKAR and LINDSAY GOLDWERT

September 2, 2009, 1:27 PM ET

13 min read

Sept. 3, 2009 — -- Chris Brown has finally come clean about what happened the night he beat and bruised his pop star girlfriend Rihanna.

Well, sort of.

Buffeted by his mother Joyce Hawkins and his attorney Mark Geragos on Larry King Live, the pop star refused, despite King's prodding, to answer questions about what happened that night, how the fight began or what words were spoken to spark the violence.

He said he "owed it" to Rihanna not to talk about the specifics of the incident and refused to elaborate. He also would not talk about whether he'd been drinking the night of the assault or whether he had abused her before.

Brown said he took full responsibility for the beating, blaming his age and difficulty controlling anger.

When asked how he felt about the assault six months after it happened, he had trouble putting his feelings into words.

"I look at it now, it's just like, wow, like, I can't -- I can't believe that -- that actually happened," he said. "It just really, like, took a toll on me. Like, I was just like, "Wow."

He voiced his frustration at the gossip that has swirled around him, calling bloggers "the immature media."

"I feel like it's high school sometimes, how people just pry themselves on personal business," he said.

Chris Brown Witnessed Domestic Violence as a Child
The topic of domestic violence brought tears to Hawkins' eyes since she herself was a victim of abuse at the hands of an ex-husband.
Brown admitted hearing the sounds of violence as a child and being "scared to go to bed" some nights.
But his mother quickly said that being a witness to abuse doesn't necessarily make you an abuser.
" I don't believe that just because someone was abused that -- and someone saw it, they're going to actually be an abuser," she said. "It can happen, but I can't say that for sure for every case. This is not the case. "
Brown's entire interview didn't come out without some commotion of its own. Monday, CNN released a brief clip of his conversation with King in which Brown says he "doesn't remember" beating Rihanna and "never fell out of love with her."
Incensed, Brown told People magazine in a lengthy statement that he "misspoke" during the 30-second clip and that he was asked "something like 4 or 5 times" about the altercation with Rihanna during an hourlong interview.
"Of course I remember what happened," Brown said in a statement to the magazine Monday. "But it was and still is a blur."
Brown's revelations come on the heels of his August 25 sentencing, in which Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg ordered Brown to five years of probation, a year of domestic violence counseling and six months of community labor. He will serve his sentence in his home state of Virginia.
Schnegg also ordered Brown to stay 100 yards away from his former girlfriend for the next five years, unless they are attending music industry events.
"It's kind of hard, definitely, because her being my friend for so long and us being -- being that close of a friend, it's kind of like, wow, like, not being able to see or talk to that person is kind of -- kind of difficult," he said. "It's also hard, because we're both in the same industry. We go to the same events."
His attorney joked that the two of them need GPS chips into the two of them to figure out where the other one is at all times.
Rihanna, meanwhile, appears to have moved on from Brown. After hanging out with him at Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' mansion on Miami Beach's Star Island in late February and in Los Angeles shortly after that, the two have not been spotted together.
Brown said the time they spent together at Combs' mansion was a "A Romeo and Juliet story, like both sides not wanting us to kind of have contact, so we just got away."
He said that the two rekindled their friendship "at the time" and said that they "ended as friends."

Interview, Probation Report Reveal Multiple Altercations Between Brown, Rihanna

A probation report presented at the sentencing , revealed that Brown and Rihanna's pre-Grammy awards fight was not the first scrap between the two singers.

According to The Associated Press, which obtained a copy of the report, the first incident occurred about three months before the February beating. While the couple was traveling in Europe, Rihanna slapped Brown during an argument and he shoved her into a wall, according to the report.

In the second incident, Brown and Rihanna had an argument while driving a Range Rover during a visit to Rihanna's home country Barbados. Brown got out of the car and broke the front and passenger side windows, according to the report. No one was injured during the incident.

When asked about these two incidents, Brown said he was not aware of them.

Neither attack was reported to police, according to the probation report.

The document also revealed some more details of the Feb. 8 incident that left Rihanna battered and bruised. Rihanna became "enraged" after Brown allegedly received a text message from a previous lover and "slammed both of her fists against the dashboard." That led to Brown pulling over the Lamborghini he was driving and trying to force her out, which escalated into a full-blown fight.

Last month, Brown broke his silence on the incident for the first time and made a public apology on YouTube to his fans and claimed to have apologized to Rihanna numerous times. He reiterated that he was seeking help and explained why he didn't open up sooner.

"Since February my attorney has advised me not to speak out, even though since the incident I wanted to publicly express my deepest regret and accept full responsibility," Brown begins.

"Although I would do some interviews and answer some questions in the future, I felt it was time you heard directly from me that I am sorry. I have tried to live my life in a way that would make those around me proud of me, and until recently, I think I was doing a pretty good job. I wish I had the chance to live those few moments again, but unfortunately I can't."

Brown admitted that the incident has caused trouble for his career.

"I think this is probably one of the worst moments of my life, and I always wish like I could take it back," he said. "I've said countless times how -- how sorry I am to Rihanna and, like, and I -- and I just accepted full responsibility. But it's just one of things I wish I could have relived and just handled totally different."

Additional reporting contributed by Luchina Fisher and The Associated Press.

The topic of domestic violence brought tears to Hawkins' eyes since she herself was a victim of abuse at the hands of an ex-husband.

Brown admitted hearing the sounds of violence as a child and being "scared to go to bed" some nights.

But his mother quickly said that being a witness to abuse doesn't necessarily make you an abuser.

" I don't believe that just because someone was abused that -- and someone saw it, they're going to actually be an abuser," she said. "It can happen, but I can't say that for sure for every case. This is not the case. "

Brown's entire interview didn't come out without some commotion of its own. Monday, CNN released a brief clip of his conversation with King in which Brown says he "doesn't remember" beating Rihanna and "never fell out of love with her."

Incensed, Brown told People magazine in a lengthy statement that he "misspoke" during the 30-second clip and that he was asked "something like 4 or 5 times" about the altercation with Rihanna during an hourlong interview.

"Of course I remember what happened," Brown said in a statement to the magazine Monday. "But it was and still is a blur."

Brown's revelations come on the heels of his August 25 sentencing, in which Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg ordered Brown to five years of probation, a year of domestic violence counseling and six months of community labor. He will serve his sentence in his home state of Virginia.

Schnegg also ordered Brown to stay 100 yards away from his former girlfriend for the next five years, unless they are attending music industry events.

"It's kind of hard, definitely, because her being my friend for so long and us being -- being that close of a friend, it's kind of like, wow, like, not being able to see or talk to that person is kind of -- kind of difficult," he said. "It's also hard, because we're both in the same industry. We go to the same events."

His attorney joked that the two of them need GPS chips into the two of them to figure out where the other one is at all times.

Rihanna, meanwhile, appears to have moved on from Brown. After hanging out with him at Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' mansion on Miami Beach's Star Island in late February and in Los Angeles shortly after that, the two have not been spotted together.

Brown said the time they spent together at Combs' mansion was a "A Romeo and Juliet story, like both sides not wanting us to kind of have contact, so we just got away."

He said that the two rekindled their friendship "at the time" and said that they "ended as friends."