Los Angeles - Rihanna was named Woman of the Year by Glamour magazine Tuesday and talked for the first time about her assault in February by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. "I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears," Rihanna, 21, told the magazine. "That was the level of media chaos that happened the next day."
Rihanna said she felt humiliated when pictures showing her bruised and swollen face were leaked to the press.
"It was humiliating: that is not a photo you would show to anybody," she said. "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."
But she said that at least she could now be an advocate for young women caught in violent relationships.
"Teenage girls can't tell their parents that their boyfriend beats them up. ... It's one of the things we hide because it's embarrassing," she said.
"I want to give as much insight as I can to young women because I feel like I represent a voice that isn't really heard. Now I can help speak for those women."
Glamour editor-in-chief Cini Leive said that Rihanna was chosen as its Woman of the Year because "in breaking her silence about what she calls the 'big secret' of domestic violence, she is sending an important message to young women that they too can move on and succeed after personal challenges."
