Former flames Rihanna and Chris Brown may have snuffed their romantic flame years ago, but the two have seemingly been tied together, for better or worse, ever since that fateful night in 2009 when Brown assaulted the Bajan beauty. Although the subject of Brown and his past violence still irks many of the Loud singer’s “Rihanna Navy” fans, Rihanna is now saying that she’s proud of her former beau’s success and adds that she’s a fan of Brown.
The sexy Bajan bombshell discusses her continued respect for Brown in the cover feature of the November issue of Esquire, who put the nearly nude siren (save a few wet leaves) on their cover as the “Sexiest Woman of 2011.”
In the article, Rihanna discusses with ease her pride of Brown’s long-fought struggle to redemption and return to the top of the charts following his public downfall in the aftermath of the domestic violence scandal. According to the singer, she wishes nothing but the best for her former love.
“It’s incredible to see how he pulled out of it the way he did. Even when the world seemed like it was against him, you know? I really like the music he’s putting out. I’m a fan of his stuff. I’ve always been a fan,” said Rihanna. “Obviously, I had some resentment toward him for a while, for obvious reasons. But I’ve put that behind me. It was taking up too much of my time. It was too much anger. I’m really excited to see the breakthrough he’s had in his career. I would never wish anything horrible for him. Never. I never have.”
This isn’t the first time Rihanna’s voiced support for Brown in recent times. At the top of the year, Rihanna agreed to relax her restraining order against Brown, allowing him to contact her digitally or in person as long as he didn’t harass her. And later in the year, fans learned that the two were at least speaking again after Brown mistakenly posted what was meant to be a direct message to his Twitter page, asking Rihanna if she’d received some pictures that he’d previously sent her.
Crimes of the past are rarely forgotten, but as Rihanna is continuously displaying with her words toward Brown, forgetting isn’t the issue, but rather it’s about forgiveness. And clearly Rihanna is a woman who’s forgiven Brown and learned to let her painful past go. –nicholas robinson
