Rihanna donates €2.0 million towards ‘umbrella fund’ to aid domestic violence survivors

It’s an issue which, as many fans will undoubtedly be aware, is incredibly close to Rihanna’s heart: in 2009, she was violently assaulted by her then-boyfriend Chris Brown.

The attack left her with visible facial injuries – including heavy bruising, black eyes, and a split lip. And, speaking to Diane Sawyer on 20/20, Rihanna said that Brown punched her and bit her repeatedly, that he threatened to kill her and that she “fended him off with my feet… but it was not, like, it was not like a fight with each other.” She said that she was also choked – not to the point of unconsciousness, although she did have trouble breathing.

“All I kept thinking was, ‘When is it going to stop?’” she said of the escalating violence.

Brown turned himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department and received five years of probation and a community service order for the assault.