An emotional Rihanna has opened up to Oprah Winfrey about the abuse she suffered at the hands of former boyfriend, Chris Brown.

The candid interview, which is due to air on August 19, sees the Bajan beauty talk honestly about the very public ups and downs of her career and she explains that after Brown attacked her back in 2009 she was more concerned for his state of mind than for her own wellbeing:

"I lost my best friend... everything I knew switched -- switched in a night. And I couldn't control that. It's not easy to interpret on camera, not with the world watching. I felt like the only person they hate right now is him. It was a weird, confusing space to be in.”

"Because as angry as I was -- as angry and hurt and betrayed -- I just felt like he made that mistake because he needed help. And who's going to help him? Nobody's going to say he needs help, everybody's going to say he's a monster, without looking at the source. And I was more concerned about him."

Watch Rihanna break down while talking about Brown in a teaser trailer for the interview here: