Rihanna opens up to Oprah Winfrey about Chris Brown assault

In the upcoming interview with Oprah Winfrey, Rihanna opens up about her relationship with Chris Brown.

And what Rihanna has to say about her ex-boyfriend, who was convicted of assaulting her three years ago, in the prerecorded interview will come as a surprise to some.

Rihanna, 24, tells Oprah Winfrey: “I felt like the only person they hate right now is him. 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? 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.”

Previously released preview clips of the upcoming TV special Oprah: The Next Chapter, showed Rihanna describe the fall-out from the horrific night after a pre-Grammy party.

She said: “It was embarrassing it was humiliating… I lost my best friend.”

Oprah Winfrey is then seen asking series of probing questions concerning Rihanna’s past and present relationship with Chris Brown, including: “Do you think Chris Brown is a true love for you?” and “Where does your relationship stand today?”.

While producers saved Rihanna’s answers for the actual episode, her replies managed to shock the talk show queen.

Oprah Winfrey exclaims: “I would have never thought that. You just shocked me.”

In one of the promos ahead of the episode, Oprah Winfrey, 58, reveals she had a pre-conceived idea of what to expect when she travelled to the singer’s home country of Barbados.

During the documentary, which was filmed on August 5, Rihanna went back to her childhood home in the island capital Bridgetown.

Speaking to camera in the preview, Oprah Winfrey said: “I went there with my own ideas about who she was from watching her videos and listening to her music.

“I thought she was gonna be kind of a bada**, a kind of hard edged, rocker, pop woman. Nothing could have been farther from the truth.”

Over clips of the interview and footage of Rihanna driving Oprah to visit her old neighborhood, Oprah Winfrey said: “She was thoughtful… She was very emotional… She was vulnerable.”

In brief segments from the one-to-one on the sofa, Rihanna admitted: “I am super duper terrified of the pedestal that comes with fame…

“It’s amazing how lonely you can feel.”

As well as crying, Rihanna also burst into laughter when Oprah Winfrey commented on her frequent use of the F-word.

Oprah also praised Rihanna for her skills behind the wheel: “First of all I’m surprised by what a good driver she is.”

Visiting her former home, Rihanna appears down-to-earth and humble as she chats to her old neighbors and embraces local children.

Teasing viewers to watch the interview, she said: “She pushes the edge a lot, and there’s a reason for that.”

Rihanna’s appearance on Oprah’s OWN channel comes three years after the talk show queen made a public appeal to the singer to leave her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown.

Oprah Winfrey spoke out a month after Rihanna was assaulted by the R&B singer, amidst rumors at the time they were still together.

The TV presenter said in 2009: “If a man hits you once, he will hit you again. He will hit you again. It makes me so sad. Love doesn’t hurt.

“Both Chris Brown and Rihanna, if I were your friend, I would call you up and say give it some time. Get yourself some counseling. Take care of yourself. Heal yourself first.”

Oprah Winfrey is hoping the Rihanna special will help her struggling network continue its comeback.

It has seen viewership increase by 25% since the start of the year, though from a very low starting baseline.

Discovery has just revealed they expect the network to start making money at the end of 2013.

The Rihanna interview will air on OWN on August 19.