Investigation Discovery’s Chris Brown: A History of Violence addresses Chris Brown‘s numerous allegations of abuse and sexual assault abuse allegations — starting with his 2009 arrest for physically assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna.
In Us Weekly‘s exclusive clip from the upcoming documentary, which airs on Sunday, October 27, as part of the network’s No Excuse for Abuse campaign, Cheryl Dorsey from the Los Angeles Police Department read details from the 15-year-old incident report.
“It states that Rihanna and Chris were driving in his car around town. Rihanna had seen something on his phone that made her think he was dealing with another female,” she states in the doc. “And by his own admission, when she confronted him in the car he got a little annoyed with her. The nerve of her to have the temerity to ask him a question about whatever it is that he is doing.”
Broadcast journalist Sharon Carpenter elaborated on the incident, saying, “Chris tried to shove her out of the car by opening the door and throwing her out. She had her seatbelt on so that didn’t work. Then he punched her in the eye. He kept punching her and her mouth was filling up with blood.”
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According to the police report, Brown, 35, threatened Rihanna, 36, as the incident continued to escalate.
Rihanna and Chris Brown Chris Polk/FilmMagic
“Chris Brown had said to her, ‘I am going to beat the s— out of you,’” Carpenter read from the documents. “She called her assistant — who didn’t pick up — but Rihanna pretended to be on the phone with her. Likely she was hoping this would get Chris to calm down and come to his senses.”
She continued: “But then he said, ‘Now I am really going to kill you!’ He then put her in a chokehold so tight that she began to lose consciousness.”
Dorsey noted that the abuse was taking place while Brown was behind the wheel, adding, “[Chris was] driving, punching her with his right fist as he drives with his left hand. This goes on for blocks.”
Brown was arrested in 2009 after he physically assaulted Rihanna. He pleaded guilty to the felony charge and served five years of probation, in addition to community service and domestic violence counseling.
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“I’m pretty sure we can always be friends,” Brown told Larry King in his first interview since his arrest in 2009. “I don’t know about our relationship, but I just know definitely that we ended as friends.”
Brown and Rihanna briefly reconciled in 2012 before calling it quits again one year later. Following their split, Rihanna described how it felt to answer questions about the attack.
“It’s in the past, and I don’t want to say, ‘Get over it,’ because it’s a very serious thing that is still relevant. It’s still real,” Rihanna, who now shares two kids with ASAP Rocky, told Vanity Fair in 2015. “A lot of women, a lot of young girls, are still going through it. A lot of young boys, too. It’s not a subject to sweep under the rug, so I can’t just dismiss it like it wasn’t anything, or I don’t take it seriously. But, for me, and anyone who’s been a victim of domestic abuse, nobody wants to even remember it.”
Rihanna recalled feeling “very protective” of Brown after the incident.
“I felt that people didn’t understand him. But you know, you realize after a while that in that situation you’re the enemy,” she continued. “You want the best for them, but if you remind them of their failures, or if you remind them of bad moments in their life, or even if you say, ‘I’m willing to put up with something.’ They think less of you — because they know you don’t deserve what they’re going to give.”
Brown has continued to face legal troubles since his 2009 arrest. He started dating Karrueche Tran after his split from Rihanna in 2012, and they remained together until 2014. Tran filed for a restraining order against Brown in 2017, citing allegations of physical abuse. The order was later extended — Brown has denied the abuse accusations.
In 2022, Brown was sued by a woman claiming he drugged and raped her at a party two years prior. He replied to the claims via Instagram Stories in January, writing, “I HOPE Y’ALL SEE THIS PATTERN OF whenever I’m releasing music or projects ‘THEY’ try to pull some real bulls—.”
A judge ultimately dismissed the case — more recently Brown and members of his entourage were sued for $50 million amid claims of a “violent assault” against four concertgoers. Us confirmed in July that the lawsuit included a temporary restraining order against Brown on behalf of the four concertgoers — Larry Parker, Joseph Lewis, Charles Bush and Damarcus Powell — who seek $50 million in compensation for damages. Brown’s legal team denied the allegations at the time.
Chris Brown: A History of Violence airs on Investigation Discovery on Sunday, October 27, at 9 p.m. ET.
If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
