Where Does Rihanna Go From Here?

By Alicia Sparks
November 6, 2009

Givenchy - Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week or so - or, for some reason, haven’t visited anything online except your email - I’d be willing to bet you’ve at least caught a whiff of Rihanna’s upcoming interview with Diane Sawyer tonight on ABC’s 20/20. It’s the first time the star has spoken publicly, and at length, about not only the night Chris Brown physically attacked her, but also the whirlwind of events that followed including how the media storm that followed made her feel like “Britney Spears” and how she wanted to forget the entire thing and for life - and their relationship - to just return to normal.

Although you’ll have to tune in tonight to catch the entire segment, Good Morning America showed brief clips from the interview yesterday morning and this morning, both of which feature Diane Sawyer and Rihanna addressing issues we looked at here shortly after the incident became public and it looked as though Rihanna might reconcile with Chris Brown - for example, the concern that, by going back to Chris Brown, Rihanna might be sending the wrong message to girls about abusive behavior:

“It’s completely normal to go back. It’s not right. I learned the hard way, but again, this is what I want people to know [...] When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result in some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part. I couldn’t be held responsible for going back.” (ABC News)

In addition to questioning Rihanna’s decision to go back to Chris Brown, we seemed to wonder - perhaps even on a daily basis - about the couple’s every move for a long while after the incident. Chris Brown lost endorsements and movie promotion spots, and we speculated (still, for reasons unbeknown to me) whether Rihanna would lose her endorsements, too. We also wondered about the third-parties involved (specifically Rihanna’s father and Puff Daddy or P. Diddy or Diddy or whatever - I cannot keep up with that man’s names) and whether Chris Brown was an abuser and what label meant.

Although I’ve only watched the two clips from the interview so far, it seems as if Rihanna has regained her footing since February. She seems to have come to terms - healthy terms - with what happened to her. She knows it wasn’t her fault. She also seems to have learned a lot about love, the kind of obsession she mentions, and relationships in general.

So, where does she go from here?

Now that she’s broken her silence, can we expect to see Rihanna take on the role of some kind of spokesperson against domestic violence? Rita Smith, the executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, thinks she’d be good at it.

Or, now that she’s had her say and issued her advice and warning to other women, can we expect Rihanna to try to detach herself as much as possible from the past and move forward with nothing more but the wisdom she gained from it?

Perhaps we’ll find out tonight.

Until then, what do you think she’ll do? For that matter, what would you do?