Rihanna covers the May edition of Elle magazine and inside, the Bajan singer opens up about her reconciliation with Chris Brown.

"I respect what other people have to say. The bottom line is that everyone thinks differently," she says of the criticism. "It's very hard for me to accept, but I get it. People end up wasting their time on the blogs or whatever, ranting away, and that's all right. I don't hate them for it."

Three years ago, Brown was charged with felony assault after he violently attacked Rihanna just before the Grammy Awards. Despite their troubled past, the singers recently collaborated on two remixes.

She received a lot of backlash for working with her former boyfriend, but she's not apologizing: "Because tomorrow I'm still going to be the same person. I'm still going to do what I want to do."

A source recently told Page Six that her management had banned her from working with Brown, but she insists on doing it anyway.

"Rihanna is rebelling," says the insider. "She says they have been working her too hard and she wants some time to herself. They fear she'll secretly record an album with Brown, just to defy them."

[Elle / PageSix]

Today, Chris Brown tweeted a photo of himself and a few friends wearing hoodies in support of Trayvon Martin, the young man who was shot to death in Sanford, Florida.

"Trayvon Martin!" wrote Brown. He also captioned the Instagram photo a "memory to keep around forever."

The singer is one of many public figures who have been sporting hoodies in support of Martin's family. Stacy Francis, Chaka Khan, Eric Benet, and many other celebs recently announced that they were re-recording Khan's "Super Life" in memory of the 17-year-old.

What do you think of Brown's tweet, given his history with violence? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

[HollywoodLife]

A Georgia restaurant called Chops & Hops has issued an apology after they dedicated a Black & Bleu Burger special to Chris Brown and Rihanna.

If that's not enough to leave a bad taste in your mouth, they had this to say about Friday's special: "Chris Brown won't beat you up for eating this unless your name starts with a R and ends with A."

After widespread criticism, the restaurant backed down and promised to make a donation to Project Safe, a domestic violence awareness and prevention organization.

"The owners of C&H would like to make sure everyone knows that we and our staff DO NOT SUPPORT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE," read a status on their Facebook page. "Many of us have been affected by domestic violence in some manner and realize that this is no joke."

Three years ago, Rihanna and Brown called it quits after he brutally attacked her. Despite their troubled history, the pair recently collaborated on two songs.

[Eater]

This morning on On the Air With Ryan Seacrest, Rihanna called in to reveal why she decided to collaborate with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown on two new remixes.

"I thought about rappers, and I've done that so many times, and the hottest R&B artist out right now is Chris Brown," said the Bajan singer. "So I wanted him on the track."

The two singers worked together on a remix of Rihanna's "Birthday Cake," and also on a new version of his song "Turn Up the Music."

The collaboration drew widespread criticism since Brown was convicted of felony assault three years ago after he violently attacked Rihanna.

Listen to what else she has to say about Brown in the clip above.

[TMZ]

Rihanna's father, Ronald Fenty, recently revealed some surprising opinions about his daughter in a new interview, and even said he would be supportive if Rihanna decided to reconcile with her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown.

''Chris is a nice guy and everybody's entitled to make mistakes in their life," Fenty told Heat magazine when asked about the recent collaboration between the singers. "God knows how many I've made. She's her own woman now.''

Rihanna and Brown ended their relationship in 2009, after he was charged with felony assault for physically attacking her inside a car just before the Grammys.

Fenty (above) attended this year's Grammy ceremony with his daughter and her little brother. The Bajan singer and her father began speaking again in 2010, after being estranged for two years.

He also took credit for the Rihanna's enviable body, saying he encouraged her to exercise more because she had gained weight since the last time he saw her.

"I actually thought she was a little fat the last time I saw her," said father-of-the-year Fenty. "When I saw her at this year's Grammys, I thought she was back to her normal size."

[NewYorkPost]

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