Rihanna: "I Went To Sleep As Rihanna And Woke Up As Britney Spears"

After months of silence, Rihanna is finally speaking out about her horrible ordeal with Chris Brown, the ensuing media madness and domestic violence.

In an interview with Glamour, Rihanna revealed that although certain events in the past several months have been "humiliating" for the pop star, she's now "stronger, wiser and more aware."

When asked how she got through the difficult year, Rihanna replied:

"My friends and family have been extremely supportive, and everyone has been there for me. But at some point you are there alone. It’s a lonely place to be—no one can understand. That’s when you get close to God."

But she says the incident with Brown is not the only thing she's had to overcome:

"I am talking about starting with the night [before] the Grammys and then on. That was not the only thing that occurred this year. The picture leaking…it was one thing after another. It was humiliating; that is not a photo you would show to anybody. I felt completely taken advantage of. I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it’s my life. I was disappointed, especially when I found out the photo was [supposedly leaked by] two women."

And the ensuing media coverage of the shocking event has become a learning experience for Ri:

"It has taught me so much. I felt like I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears. That was the level of media chaos that happened the next day. It was like, What, there are helicopters circling my house? There are 100 people in my cul-de-sac? What do you mean, I can’t go back home?"

After months of working on herself, Rihanna finally feels that she's ready to help others by speaking out about domestic violence:

"It’s one of the things we [women] will hide, because it’s embarrassing. My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery. The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn’t heard. Now I can help speak for those women."

This is the interview people have been waiting for her to give ever since her violent fight with then-boyfriend Chris Brown. And although she's been somewhat scrutinized for not speaking out earlier, we commend Rihanna for taking the time to heal herself before reaching out to try and help others.