Carry On, Chris Brown, Carry On
Chris Brown is on the up and up.
At the singer's first checkup hearing since he was sentenced for attacking Rihanna in February, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg said she had received "an extremely favorable progress report" on him from the probation department.
Rihanna and Chris Brown Battle It Out via Music Video
With videos like these, it's almost as if Rihanna and Chris Brown were hoping for mass-media scrutiny to follow.
As promised, the two megastars debuted their new music videos Friday, her first since the highly publicized incident last February, and spoiler alert: they're both left wide open for interpretation.
Rihanna's "Russian Roulette" portrays some seemingly real emotion as the songstress bounces back and forth between writhing around a padded cell and facing off with a rather muscular man presenting her with a loaded gun.
Representative of her relationship battles with Brown? Likely Perhaps, but far more unstated than her former counterpart's attempt.
You can't deny Brown's ability to bust a move in his videos, but "Crawl" just feels like another one of Camp Chris' ploys for public pity. The song is good, but casting R&B singer Cassie—often touted as Rihanna 2.0 because of her strong fashion statements and outlandish hairstyles—to play Brown's faux famous-ex? Not very cool.
Now you decide: Who gives fans the best comeback video: Rihanna or Chris Brown?
Rihanna and Chris Brown Still in Sync, Prepare to Face Off Once More
Rihanna and Chris Brown's promotional schedules may have curiously collided in the past, but this is just getting ridiculous.
Last month, Rihanna released her highly anticipated comeback single, "Russian Roulette." Brown chose the same day to announce his tour plans, which he followed up, two days later, by releasing his new single, "Crawl."
Then last week, Rihanna sat down with Diane Sawyer for an emotional and revelatory two-day interview. Brown answered the appearance as best the ratings-poison singer could, spilling his own oft-repeated secrets in a same-day interview on MTV.
Well, get ready for a shock: Rihanna's music video has long been set to premiere on 20/20 this Friday. And in what can only be described as a shameless piggybacking publicity ploy coincidence, guess who else decided that a musical return to the airwaves was also in order?
Brown has been booked on Friday's Wendy Williams Show, where he will both chat (though probably not much) with the hostess and premiere the not-nearly-as-anticipated music video for his single. But while Rihanna has offered no clues on what we can expect from her video, Brown has given fans a few sneak peeks, having already released promotional pictures of himself and Cassie on set.
But, credit where it's due, one thing Brown has managed to do all on his own is stay on top of the terms of his probation.
Update
How Big Was Gossip Girl's Threesome?
How many people had their Lizzie Maguire memories destroyed by Gossip Girl last night? How bad did Rihanna's interview show up Chris Brown's? And why would Saturday Night Live never dream of pulling a Kanye West on Taylor Swift?
The answers—and more questions (about Mad Men, Kate Gosselin and more)—in this week's TV ratings quiz:
1. So, was that threesome good for Gossip Girl? It wasn't bad, especially considering the event was nothing more explicit than three people (Penn Badgley, Jessica Szhor and Disney grad Hilary Duff) not kissing at the same time. The series was up 20 percent from last week: 2.4 million viewers versus 1.95 million, per Nielsen stats. The math worked out even better for the CW: It enjoyed its most-watched Monday of the season.
2. What were the two most surprising things about the episode? One, the show lost viewers in its threesome-boasting final half-hour; two, teenage boys chose to watch The Big Bang Theory instead. (The show did best, per usual, among young adult women.)
Fashion Police: Is Rihanna Wearing a Wedding Dress?
Glamour Woman of the Year cover girl Rihanna was honored by the lady mag last night, so you wouldn't want her to wear something normal, now would you?
Of course not! The thing is, we weren't exactly expecting the pop princess to wear this Stéphane Rolland mermaid wedding gown, especially after all the edgy rock star stuff she's favored lately...and that "ef love" statement she made. But Rihanna doesn't care what we expect.
Now, the dress can go two ways. One: Gross! Why is she wearing something made out of cheap miniblinds?! Or two: That's right, Rihanna! You pick the craziest, tightest, most dramatic, attention-grabbing thing you can find and rock it!
We gotta say, we definitely fall into the latter category with this one. Only Rihanna could make us feel this way.
________
Check out whose red carpet choices our Fashion Police aren't enamored with right here!
Justin & Jessica Catch Rihanna Show Together
Breakup rumors...what breakup rumors? Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel stepped out to Jay-Z's concert last night at UCLA and got a surprise performance from Rihanna as well!
The couple watched the concert from the sound booth, where other celebs like Nicole Richie, Samantha Ronson, Tyrese and Taraji P. Henson were also hanging.
Although Ri-Ri (who tabloids recently linked to J.T.) was on stage, Jess and Justin looked as happy as could be during the entire show.
"Justin held Jessica's hand as they walked into the venue, and he literally held her the entire concert. They were dancing together and singing along to every song," an eyewitness tells E! News of their date night. "He even held her hand as they walked out of the concert."
They weren't the only cozy couple there...
Week in Review: Rob, Kristen & Taylor Go Global; Rihanna, Kate Gosselin & Stripper Talk It Out
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; ABC/ Ida Mae Astute; James Devaney/Getty Images; John Shearer/Getty Images
It was ladies' week in Hollywood (and related environs) as real stars like Rihanna and Mariah Carey opened up on TV about serious, emotional issues; celebish types like Kate Gosselin rehashed stories we already know, but with more tears; and nonentity (in Hollywood and related environs) Nicole Forrester talked about having a one-night stand with Fergie's man.
Hey, to each her own.
Read on for your complete week in review...
Rihanna: I Told Myself I'd Never Date Anyone Like My Father
Even if she had never met Chris Brown, Rihanna knew how domestic abuse could turn into a vicious cycle.
"I always anticipated it happening. At night I wouldn't want to sleep, because I was too afraid it would happen," the singer said in the portion of her ABC News interview that aired on 20/20 tonight, referring to her father hitting her mother when she was a child growing up in Barbados.
"She never went to the hospital, but he broke her nose.," Rihanna continued. "She would never go to the hospital...Domestic violence is not somebody that people want anbody to know, so she would just hide it in the house. I always said to myself, 'I'm never going to date somebody like my dad, never.'
"I always said that."
And yet she not only dated someone who hit her, she went back to him after the fact.
Chris Brown: I Accept Accountability...But Some Things Are Just Private
ABC snagged Rihanna, leaving MTV...with Chris Brown.
But the network and the fallen R&B star made the most of the opportunity tonight with a half-hour special that gave Brown a chance to reflect even more upon his endlessly reflected-upon crime.
So did he have anything new to say this time?
Well, Brown's position has been to not discuss what exactly happened the night he assaulted his then girlfriend, turning him into a celeb-gossip pariah before the sun had risen the next day.
But Rihanna did go into detail about the attack, however, and MTV gave Brown the opportunity to respond to what Rihanna was dishing out to Diane Sawyer.
"While I respect Rihanna's right to discuss the specific events of February 8th, I maintain my position that all of the details should remain a private matter between us," he said in a statement to MTV today.
Rihanna Recounts Brutal Attack, but Says She Still Loves Chris Brown
Despite all that's happened, Rihanna doesn't hate Chris Brown.
In fact, she still loves him.
"I don't hate him at all," she tells Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. "I actually love and care about him and I'm concerned about him doing well. I want him to do well, have a great career, have a great life and grow up, and just take this as something that you had to go through to grow up and learn."
She may wish him the best, but neither this morning nor yesterday morning did she mention the words forgiveness, reconciliation or rekindle, although those are topics supposedly set to be tackled on tonight's 20/20 special.
The singer did, however, explain some of what happened in the car that fateful February night.
Update
Rihanna: "Embarrassed," "Strong" and Admitting "Love Is So Blind"
"Ef love."
That's Rihanna's firm advice to women of any age facing domestic violence.
The first of the pop star's televised interviews with Diane Sawyer aired this morning on Good Morning America. The 21-year-old sat poised and beautiful as she explained how she went back to Chris Brown after he beat her last February, how she managed to break free from him and how she feels about it now.
Rihanna declares she's "strong" but is ashamed at how the whole relationship went down.
"I fell in love with that person—that's embarrassing," she says. "That's embarrassing that that's the type of person that I fell in love with, so far in love, so unconditional [that] I went back."
Sawyer noted that, on average, woman will take a beating seven times before leaving. The 21-year-old's response was chilling.
Mariah Carey Claims Emotional and Mental Abuse
Rihanna may have had it rough, but, unfortunately, hers is not the only abuse story on the docket this week.
Mariah Carey appeared on Larry King Live last night and admitted she's faced her own difficult relationships. "Abuse has several categories," she tells the host when he asks if she's ever been in a situation similar to Rihanna's. "[I've been abused] Emotionally, mentally."
Not unlike the battered pop star, Carey says the hardest part was breaking free from ex-husband Tommy Mottola (whom she doesn't mention by name but very clearly alludes to).
"It's scary," she admits. "I just think you get into a situation and you feel locked in…For me, to really get out, it was difficult because there was connection that was not only a marriage, but a business thing where the person was in control of my life."
When asked for her thoughts on Rihanna's struggles, she reacts the way many of us have.
"Yikes," she says calmly, later adding, "I can't imagine what she went through."
________
Too much serious! Time for Silly Celebs' Goofy Grins!









