Chris Brown's friend Fabolous hopes the public will see the star's good side in the future.

The R&B superstar and Rihanna have reunited after Brown's assault on the beauty in 2009.

The 'With You' hitmaker recently called the night he assaulted Rihanna the "deepest regret of my life, the biggest mistake" and explained that she has finally forgiven him for it.

Brown's friend and fellow music star Fabolous hopes the public are able to see past the singer's mistakes.

He told the New York Post: “I can’t wager my friendship on a public or media persona of him. Those people who have bad reputations, of course you wouldn’t want to be around. But I don’t believe he’s a bad person. I believe, even if you’re looking at the situation with Rihanna, things happen and you move on.”

He added: "Whatever happened in the past is the past . . . even Rihanna’s moved on. The public has perceptions of people off of what they see, not what they know.”

Brown hit the headlines four years ago after being charged for assaulting his then girlfriend. The pair have controversially reconciled since, after initially breaking up following the incident.   

Brown spoke openly about his mistake in a recent interview: "Sometimes you row, you fight, with the one you love and things get said, stuff spirals. That night was the deepest regret of my life, the biggest mistake. But she loves me – what can I say? I'm forgiven…but, yes, I worked hard for it."

He added: "I've learned a lot since that night and I've grown up. I was very young and I took a lot of stuff, fame, for granted. I didn't understand it. The support from those who do know me and the fans, who are incredible, got me through."