Rihanna Interview Pulls In Eight Million Viewers

RIHANNA’s explosive TV interview about her beating at the hands of ex-boyfriend CHRIS BROWN drew in an estimated eight million viewers when it aired in the U.S. on Friday (06Nov09).

The Umbrella hitmaker was left battered and bruised after a fight with Brown in February (09), which resulted in the Kiss Kiss singer being ordered to stay away from her as part of his sentence.

She opened up about the violent sequence of events for the first time when she detailed the fight on news show 20/20 on Friday night - traditionally television’s least-watched evening of the week in the U.S.

Blinking back tears, Rihanna told broadcaster Diane Sawyer Brown “blacked out” before she was struck by his fists, adding, “It wasn’t the same person that says I love you. It was not those… eyes. He had no soul in his eyes - just blank.”

Preliminary figures show the revealing interview tied for the number one show of the night, reports the New York Post.