EW spoke on the phone with Donald Etra, attorney for Rihanna, shortly after it was announced that Chris Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in a Los Angeles courtroom today.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Was this a verdict worked out between the D.A. and defense counsel?
DONALD ETRA: The plea agreement was worked out between the District Attorney and defense counsel, yes.
And is it something you are pleased with?
The district attorney advised us of the plea earlier this afternoon, and Rihanna had no objection to the plea.
Was she planning to testify in compliance with the subpoena?
Yes. She was at court and she was ready and willing to testify. As of this morning, our understanding was Rihanna would be called to the stand.
This separation agreement — that they have to be 50 yards apart, unless they are at an event, in which case it’s 10 yards — can you elaborate on that?
Yes. The judge issued a stay-away order requiring Chris to stay at least 50 yards away from Rihanna and to have no contact with Rihanna. If they happen to be at the same industry function, then the 50 yards becomes 10 yards. But the no-contact order still is in effect.
And is that permanent or does it have a time limit? Will it be revisited?
The current order lasts for 5 years, although the judge said that after Chris is sentenced in August, she would consider reducing the full stay-away order to a limited protective order. Rihanna requested that there only be a protective order, namely that Chris be ordered not to annoy, molest, or harass her. Rihanna did not feel that a stay-away order was necessary in this case.
Is it your opinion and the opinion of Rihanna that the sentence is punitive enough?
Rihanna feels it’s a fair and just resolution to the case.
And does she have any desire to communicate with him outside of the bounds of the no-contact order?
Rihanna understands the terms of the protective order and of course will comply with those terms.
Is it your feeling that everyone is ready to move on or will there be further civil suits involved?
At this point, this terminates the criminal proceeding, in so far as a preliminary hearing or trial. What remains is sentencing, and then various court appearances for Mr. Brown to show that he’s complying with the terms of the sentence.
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Brown is a jerk.
But he could have made a better deal.
He should have accepted jail and put this behind him. The plea deal will leave him tied up for years.
actually this is the better deal for him. 4 years in prison would have probably killed his career. this way he’s out and able to continue his life, more or less. either way, he pled guilty and admitted he did something wrong.
There should have been no deal. This man bit her–he acted like a brutal animal and people still try to justify this. Every 9 seconds a woman is beaten in this country.
OMG – Not to “annoy” her? WTF is THAT all about? Hey dude, you annoy me, you’re going to jail. pfffttt…
I think the annoy part may be a way of trying to include the technology of texting b/c he could bother her that way, no it’s not touching but still. I think they just need to avoid each other follow the court’s order, this is not a game.
What he did was a very bad thing; however, why are they getting so many headlines for this. Who really cares? There are plenty of women being beat everyday, yet the media doesn’t seem interested in writing about it. Why do these people get so much attention?
Umm…because they are celebrities?! Plenty of people go shopping too, but TMZ doesn’t follow me around.
THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. LOVE IS NEVER APPLIED AT THE END OF A FIST.
why rihanna gotta lie about Chris? She know she started it and now he can hit her as much as he wants cause his conviction is FALSE and she deserves what she get!
she is a whore, thats why she got beat up…she had a std from fing other dudes and he was pissed…he should of just filed a law suit against her for getting him herpes, that would have more hilarious hat him beating her.
Where is this std sh*t comming from hello people. They were fighting because he recieved a text from his female manger stating will I see you tonight and Rihanna saw it. Why are girls so dumb yea it’s ok for a guy to beat the hell out of you beccause he recieved a very inappropriate text from another chick. i’m so glad I’m not a girl!
I smell an Oprah interview!!!
wey dey do dat at? holla holla. dat b**ch riri get what she deserves. jamaca ho. chris iz fine he can beat me nytime. riri is a punk b**ch. snitchez end up in ditchez. white peeple blew all this sh*t up. punkz
This is a ROCKIN’ performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIqXNXjJnqs&feature=related
Can’t believe she think it’s “fair”. The man battered her…and she says it’s fair he walks away, jail-free.
pathetic.
http://tvdonewright.com/2009/06/23/tv-tonight-tuesday-june-23rd-2009/
As predicted Chris Brown wont get any jail time. It will never happen for he is a Celebrity.
Poor Rihanna feel bad for her – It’s a double jeopardy.
Giving a wrong message what happen to Justice?
You people ARE idiots! Stark, raving loony tunes. Unless Rihanna had a gun in her hand and was threatening to shoot off his family jewels, there’s no excuse for what he did. And as far as you b**ches who think what he did was cool, you are so jealous of her, or sick in your head that you need serious PSYCHIATRIC care! (and why don’t you knock of the ghetto rap and learn to at least write coherently, even if you can’t talk that way? You sound like a bunch of ignorant jacka**es)!!
If Chris Brown really did beat her up — if the photo wasn’t fixed or anything — unless he was defending himself from a potentially fatal attack, he should be punished. A lot of men in this country are FALSELY accused of beating up women, quite frankly, and they are convicted with practically no evidence, and are punished far more severely than Chris Brown. Even when nothing happened! So this slap on the wrist really is an insult to innocent men who are sometimes unfairly targetted with false accusations, restraining orders, etc.
he did it and knew she told the truth and would do so on the stand. that is the only reason why he took this deal. He is not sorry at all. He wanted an easy way out, and when he couldn’t find it he said “OK!I did it!” Lame.
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i think riri was fair enuf. she still likes him would miss him if he goes to jail. finally chris messed up and there is no justificaton for wat he did.
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I definitely think there is more to this story than everyone knows. I believe Rihanna had her own part in this whole situation and it would have been a blow to her reputation to let that out. I feel she wanted a least some leniency for Chris as well as both of them just wanted this to be over, so that’s why a plea agreement was met. If they weren’t in the public eye I don’t think Chris would have got the same sentence, but I’m sure they both learned a big lesson. Of course his lesson will last much longer.
I like both of them as artist and I hope they can continue to be successful.
Community service?? What kind of mess is that? He is not sorry and with this kind of “punishment” he never will be.
at least the jerk said he did beat her up. that’s better than other woman beaters ever do in a lifetime. it’s his first offense…so this was fair. i hope she forgots about that loser. goodbye chris…forever!!
So he gets probation and community service for felony assault. That means Polo Molina should get an award of some kind.
Rhianna is the typical battered woman. She feels it’s her fault and does not want to see him prosecuted too harshly. Her behavior is sooo typical of battered women. Even with her requesting that the restraining order be altered and lessened. I hope she’s done with him and has some sense. Truth is, if he did it once, he’ll do it again. The only reason O.J. hasn’t done it again is because no woman in her right mind would be with him.
Rihanna is hot!
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Why are people so quick to judge Chris Brown? Until Chris speaks up about what happened, we only know one side of the story; and that story is designed to make Rihanna look good. From all reports, her bruises are consistent with those of someone in a car accident in which the rider’s head hits the windshield. Or, a rider (without a seat belt) whose head hits the dash board or windshield when a car comes to a sudden stop. If she has bite marks on her arms and fingers, it’s possible that a driver (in self defense) can inflict that kind of injury to get someone off of him, while he keeps both hands on the steering wheel of a moving car. Let’s do unto Chris what we would want done unto us, and that is to reserve judgement until all the facts are in. And for the radio stations who canceled his music, shame on you. I doubt that you canceled R. Kelly’s music while the jury was still out.
Also, respect is not a thing to trade with in a relationship. Inasmuch as you would want your guy to love you without any contest, then he deserves some measure of respect from you. It’s nature!
If a man don’t have right to “beat” you, you don’t have right to “bruise his ego”; wait…we are all humans subject to weakness and have very different ways of expressing ourselves when hurt.
He has learnt his lessons and I know she will never forgive herself (provided he takes it like a man, reflect, correct his mistakes and focus hard on his career).
Thanks.