Chris Brown Receives a Shiny Review For Probation

Sorry, Chris Brown — the probation guys don’t hand out any shiny statuettes.

But a judge says that the R&B singer, who’s on probation for the felony assault of his ex-girlfriend Rihanna, has received an “extremely favorable” report, L.A. Now reports.

Brown, who according to the Associated Press talked and laughed with lawyer Mark Geragos during the brief hearing today, was sentenced in August to five years’ probation and 180 days community labor. He was also ordered to stay 100 yards away from Rihanna — unless they’re professionally obligated to attend the same entertainment event, in which case the distance drops. A lot.

Um, so, speaking of entertainment events, Rihanna was recently added to the list of performers at the American Music Awards, which will be held Sunday at the Nokia Theatre at LA Live …

At last year’s AMAs, you might remember, Brown was a big winner. (This year, Michael Jackson might take top honors — he has four nominations. Go figure.)

Rihanna, meanwhile, told a radio interviewer Thursday that she still likes Brown’s music. “When [his music] comes on on the radio, I don’t snub or turn it off; I listen,” she said.

Well isn’t that nice.

So the AMA red carpet might’ve gotten a little interesting this weekend — except that Brown, who played a show in L.A. last night, is heading back out on tour.

LA TIMES BLOG

More Chris Brown / Rihanna Interviews

Chris Brown has something to say about ex-girlfriend Rihanna’s revealing interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, in which the singer spoke frankly about the Feb. 8 incident in which he assaulted her.

“While I respect Rihanna’s right to discuss the specific events of February 8,” Brown says in a statement to MTV News, “I maintain my position that all of the details should remain a private matter between us.”

In the Diane Sawyer interview, Rihanna said that Brown, 20, put her in a headlock twice and bit her on the ear and fingers. “He had no soul in his eyes,” Rihanna, 21, told Sawyer. “He was clearly blacked out.”

And the singer — whose new album Rated R drops later this month — explained why she is speaking so publicly. “I knew I had to do this in order to move on for me and in order for my fans to move on . . . I don’t want that five years from now every time they see Rihanna, they think of Chris Brown beating me. That’s not who I am.”

She also wishes her ex well in the interview.

In his statement today, Brown continued, “I do appreciate [Rihanna's] support and wish her the best. I am extremely sorry for what I did, and I accept accountability for my actions . . . Abuse of any kind is always wrong. The rest I leave it to God.”

Brown was sentenced to five years of probation, six months of community service and one year of domestic violence counseling.

US MAGAZINE

Preview of Chris Brown Interview

Chris Brown Interview with MTV

While Rihanna granted ABC’s Diane Sawyer an interview about her February assault by her former boyfriend Chris Brown, Brown has taped a segment for MTV in which he addresses the beating that led to his guilty plea to a felony assault charge.

“My thoughts [when I look back on it now] is like, ‘Why did it happen?’ Like, ‘What was I thinking? What is wrong with you?’ That’s what I’m thinking with myself. That’s what my thoughts are, basically, now,” the R&B musician, 20, says in excerpts.

Read the Full Article Here at PEOPLE

Rihanna talks with ‘Good Morning America’

On Thursday, Rihanna’s first televised interview since her assault at the hands of former boyfriend Chris Brown in February will air. Speaking to “Good Morning America,” the singer will send the message, “This happened to me. … It can happen to anyone,” according to excerpts of the interview released on Tuesday (November 3).

Rihanna, 21, also reportedly tells Diane Sawyer that the attack by Brown was especially difficult because of how she felt about him before the incident occurred. “He was definitely my first big love,” she said in an interview that will continue on Friday night’s “20/20.”

Read more at MTV

Chris Brown Announces New Tour: Rihanna releases new single

R&B singer Chris Brown announced a month long “fan appreciation” tour on Tuesday — the same day that ex-girlfriend Rihanna released a new single seen by some as evoking their stormy relationship.

Both Rihanna’s single “Russian Roulette” and Brown’s tour announcement were firsts since their relationship came to a violent end in February.

Brown, 20, was sentenced to five years probation and community service in August for a bloody attack on Rihanna, 21, on the eve of the Grammy Awards in February. He has since publicly apologized for the assault, but has remained largely out of the media spotlight.

Brown’s record company Jive said the “Kiss Kiss” singer would play small venues in 19 U.S. cities starting in Houston, Texas on November 14.

Billed a “fan appreciation tour” it is intended to thank his followers for their support, Jive said.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to a Los Angeles domestic violence intervention charity called the Jenesse Center, and an organization providing friendships and jobs for people with developmental disabilities called Best Buddies International.

ABC NEWS

Chris Brown Begins Community Service

On Wednesday, Chris Brown began the first of 180 days of community labor to which he was sentenced for assaulting former girlfriend Rihanna. In Richmond, Virginia, the 20-year-old R&B singer hacked at weeds, hauled broken metal fencing and even waved at the cameras observing his work, according to footage shot by a local CBS News affiliate.

Dressed in black jeans, a white tank top, a red baseball hat, heavy-duty work gloves and an orange-and-yellow traffic-safety vest, Brown toiled under the Virginia sun as police looked on. Brown slashed at weeds and tree branches, pausing to pick dirt from his metal tool and acknowledge reporters gathered to observe his day. At one point, he carried a section of metal fencing and tossed it away. Extra security has been required to supervise the celebrity, but Gene Lepley, a spokesman for the Richmond Police, said that the costs are being tabulated, and Brown will be responsible for the entire bill.

Posted on Brown’s new Web site, MechanicalDummy.com, is a photo of his labor with the following statement: “Stop and think back to the last time you accepted responsibility for something. Undertaking responsibility for each one of your actions is a difficult task, but by admitting your mistakes, you are taking your life to a higher level of accountability.”

That photo is followed by a picture of a “No Violence Break the Cycle” T-shirt. Brown also posted the photo of himself working to his Twitter account. “Check out my outfit,” he wrote.

Following his February incident with Rihanna, Brown was sentenced to the community labor, five years of probation and one year of domestic-violence counseling. He was also ordered to stay away from Rihanna for five years.

Chris Brown: Wants Counseling

Part of Chris Brown’s plea agreement requires him to go to counseling. During an interview with People Magazine, Brown stated that he is ready and wants to know for himself what happened.

“I want to understand my feelings,” Brown, 20, tells PEOPLE. “I want to find out what really transpired as far as me that night. Sometimes when you’re young you don’t know how to express (your emotions), so I think it actually would be helpful to talk to a counselor or to somebody who has an expertise in what those (feelings) are.”

MSNBC

Chris Brown says Interview Segment ‘misleading’

Chris Brown said, “of course,” he remembers beating then-girlfriend Rihanna and claimed an interview segment in which he suggests otherwise was misleading. A day after a clip of his interview on “Larry King Live” shows him answering “no” to a query about whether he remembered the assault, Brown said, in a statement released late Monday, the clip was taken from a interview “during which that same question was asked something like four or five times…” Us Weekly magazine reports.

Chris Brown Doesn’t Remeber Hitting Rihanna

In an interview with Larry King, Singer Chris Brown says he does not remember hitting Rihanna.

“I just look at it like, wow, I’m in shock, because, first of all, that’s not who I am as a person, and that’s not who I promise I want to be,” Brown said in a video posted on CNN’s website. “So when I look at the police reports or hear about the police reports, I just don’t know what to think.”

Larry King’s interview will be the first time Brown will have talked with members of the media. The interview will air this coming Wednesday.

REUTERS

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