HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Rihanna's father, Ronald Fenty, is speaking out after seeing a photo that appears to be his daughter following an alleged assault by her boyfriend, Chris Brown.
The photograph in question was posted on the celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com Thursday night under the headline: "Rihanna - The Face of a Battered Woman." The graphic photo shows what appears to be the R&B star with her eyes closed, a fat lip, and bruises and cuts on her forehead. (View the photo)
"It's disturbing," Fenty told Us Weekly of the photograph Friday morning.
Rihanna, who turned 21 today, and Brown, 20, had attended Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy party in Beverly Hills on Feb. 7 before reportedly getting into an argument on the car ride home. They were sitting in Brown's rented Lamborghini in the city's Hancock Park neighborhood shortly after midnight when the alleged assault reportedly took place.
Brown was arrested the following evening on suspicion of making criminal threats against Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty. He is currently free on $50,000 bail.
Shortly after the photograph was posted, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement saying that it "takes seriously its duty to maintain the confidentiality of victims of domestic violence."
"The Department launched an immediate internal investigation and subsequently filed a personnel complaint," read the statement. "A violation of this type is considered serious misconduct, with penalties up to and including termination."
The singer's father told Us that he has mixed feelings on the controversial photo surfacing in the public eye.
"It's good and it's bad to see the picture because there's other people who were thinking differently, that [Rihanna's injuries] may not be that bad, just a little spank or a little thing," he told the mag.
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