July 21, 2009 0:05

Chris Brown apologises for Rihanna incident - video

The R&B star issues a video apology

Chris Brown issued a public apology today (July 20) for beating Rihanna last February.

The 20-year-old R&B star released a two-minute video, which can be seen below, in which he takes full responsibility for his actions and apologises for not living up to expectations as a role model. He also said that he's been wanting to speak publicly on the matter for a long time, but was advised against it.

"Since February my attorney has advised me not to speak up even though ever since the incident I wanted to publicly express my deepest regret and accept full responsibility," Brown said in his opening statement.

"I felt it was time you heard it directly from me that I'm sorry. I wish I could live those few moment again but I can't…most importantly I won't make any excuses," he said.

In the video, which was released by TMZ, Brown revealed that he told Rihanna, who was his girlfriend at the time, "countless times" that he was sorry, and that he is "sad and ashamed of what I've done."

The incident occurred in a parked car in Los Angeles in February, the day before the pair were due to appear at the Grammy Awards. A detective's affidavit says that Brown shoved Rihanna’s head against the window of his car, repeatedly punched and bit her and put her in a headlock so that she almost lost consciousness. The couple split up after the incident.

Brown plead guilty to the felony assault charge last month and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 5. It is likely that he will be required to perform six months of community labour and serve five years of probation.

--By our Los Angeles staff.
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