Chris Brown Once Said the Photos Taken of Rihanna's Bruised Face Would Haunt Him Forever

In February 2009, both Chris Brown and Rihanna were scheduled to perform at the Grammys. Not only were they incredibly talented entertainers, but the 19-year-old Brown and 21-year-old Rihanna were also in a relationship. At that point in time, they had been dating for two years and by all accounts were happy, until something horrific happened the morning of Feb. 8.

The couple had attended a pre-Grammys party thrown by producer Clive Davis at the Beverly Hilton on the evening of Feb. 7. Brown and Rihanna began to argue after the "Umbrella" singer saw a string of texts on his phone. Evidently, they were from a woman Brown had previously been intimate with. What happened next is something that will follow them both forever. Let's get into the details of the Chris Brown and Rihanna fight.

According to a search warrant obtained by People Magazine, after reading the text, Brown and Rihanna got into a heated argument. The so-called King of R&B tried to force Rihanna out of his Lamborghini, then slammed her head against the passenger window. She "turned to face Brown and he punched her in the left eye with his right hand," per the police report. "He then drove away in the vehicle and continued to punch her in the face with his right hand while steering the vehicle with his left hand."

Detective De Shon Andrews wrote that Rihanna's mouth was filled with blood. Brown allegedly screamed, "I’m going to beat the s--t out of you when we get home. You wait and see!" At this point, Rihanna was able to leave a message with her assistant, letting them know she was almost home and asked that police be waiting there. In response to that, Brown said, "You just did the stupidest thing ever. Now I’m really going to kill you.”

The report also stated that Brown put Rihanna in a headlock, causing the singer to nearly pass out. In order to protect herself from the onslaught of punches, Rihanna locked her fingers behind her head and used her elbows as a shield. She also bent over and buried her face in her lap. While this was happening, Rihanna was screaming for help so loudly that a nearby resident called 911.

In a 2017 documentary titled Chris Brown: Welcome to My Life, the "Under the Influence" singer told his side of that story. The information was more or less the same, with Brown claiming that Rihanna was also physically violent: "We were fighting each other. She would hit me, I would hit her. But it never was OK."

Brown also said the picture of Rihanna's bruised and battered face was shocking. "I look back at that picture and I'm like, 'That's not me, bro'. I hate it to this day," he said. He continued, "That's going to haunt me forever." The two briefly reconciled in 2012. Three years later, Rihanna told Vanity Fair, "I was that girl, that girl who felt that as much pain as this relationship is, maybe some people are built stronger than others."

Rihanna admitted to thinking she could change Brown, then later realized in that situation, she would be painted as the enemy. "You want the best for them, but if you remind them of their failures, or if you remind them of bad moments in their life, or even if you say I’m willing to put up with something, they think less of you," said Rihanna. She doesn't hate him and will most likely care about Brown forever, but Rihanna said they are no longer friends.