Rihanna Breaks Her Silence

Rihanna is breaking her silence after allegedly being beaten by Chris Brown. “At the request of the authorities, Rihanna is not commenting about the incident involving Chris Brown,” says a statement from her rep on Friday. “She wants to assure her fans that she remains strong, is doing well, and deeply appreciates the outpouring of support she has received during this difficult time.”

The "Umbrella" singer, who turns 21 years old today, is also speaking out for the first time -- through a spokesperson. The rep tells Usmagazine.com in a statement that she's "not commenting about the incident involving Chris Brown. "She wants to assure her fans that she remains strong, is doing well, and deeply appreciates the outpouring of support she has received during this difficult time," the statement continues.

Rihanna was spotted in Los Angeles Thursday night for the first time since her alleged assault by Chris Brown. The photos show the singer looking solemn and wearing sunglasses while being driven in the backseat of a car. Not visible: the bruises prevalent on Rihanna's face in the leaked photo taken shortly after she was battered the morning of the Grammys. The "Umbrella" singer, who turns 21 years old today, is also speaking out for the first time -- through a spokesperson.

Chris Brown and Rihanna

R & B supercouple Chris Brown and Rihanna suddenly found their relationship thrust into the headlines when Brown was arrested on suspicion of attacking a woman widely reported to be Rihanna. While various celebrity web sites, citing sources near both Brown and Rihanna, reported details of an argument in Brown’s car in the wee hours of Sunday morning, the fact is that right now, nobody really knows exactly what happened except those two, and neither is talking to anyone but the police.

Brown and Rihanna scrupulously avoided discussing their relationship in the past, which makes what went wrong even more of a mystery. Last fall, shortly before a show in Australia, Rihanna was interviewed by Melbourne radio station Fox 101.9 and talked about Brown, but would not confirm they were anything more than friends. “We are very good friends, we are cool, we are best friends, we hang out all the time, and now we’re doing a tour together,” she told the station.

Brown also did not speak much about his relationship with Rihanna. But in 2007, he told Giant Magazine that his stepfather used to hit his mother. “He made me terrified all the time, terrified like I had to pee on myself. I remember one night he made her nose bleed. I was crying and thinking, ‘I’m just gonna go crazy on him one day…’ I hate him to this day,” he told the magazine.