Rolling Stone Cover Story: Rihanna Strikes Back

Rihanna covers the latest issue of the famed Rolling Stone which hits newsstands this Friday. In the story “Rihanna Strikes Back,” the Caribbean beauty opens up on why she lifted the restraining order against Chris Brown, how she dealt with their domestic dispute, her (raunchy) bedroom behavior, and her love life. See the stunning accompanying imagery (courtesy of Mark Seliger) and some of the story’s highlights below.

On easing the restraining order against Chris Brown:

“That’s my decision. It doesn’t mean we’re gonna make up, or even talk again. It just means I didn’t want to object to the judge. We don’t have to talk ever again in my life. I just didn’t want to make it more difficult for him professionally. What he did was a personal thing – it had nothing to do with his career. Saying he has to be a hundred feet away from me, he can’t perform at awards shows – that definitely made it difficult for him.”

On the time immediately after the Brown incident:

“I put my guard up so hard,” she says. “I didn’t want people to see me cry. I didn’t want people to feel bad for me. It was a very vulnerable time in my life, and I refused to let that be the image. I wanted them to see me as, ‘I’m fine, I’m tough.’ I put that up until it felt real.”

On her hit single “S&M” being semi-autobiographical:

“Being submissive in the bedroom is really fun. You get to be a little lady, to have somebody be macho and in charge of your shit. That’s fun to me…I like to be spanked. Being tied up is fun. I like to keep it spontaneous. Sometimes whips and chains can be overly planned – you gotta stop, get the whip from the drawer downstairs. I’d rather have him use his hands.”

On her love life:

“I’m not sexing, I’m not even sexting. It’s on complete nil. I haven’t gotten a dick picture in a long time. I think people are a little afraid. It can turn out bad.”

On her relationship with her father:

“I actually feel really bad for my father. He was abused too—he got beat up by his stepdad when he was young. He has resentment toward women, because he felt like his mom never protected him, and unfortunately, my mother was the victim of that. I’m not giving him excuses. Right is right and wrong is wrong. I still blame him. But I understand the source.”