ROBIN GIVENS - GIVENS: 'BROWN'S ABUSE IS UNACCEPTABLE'

GIVENS: 'BROWN'S ABUSE IS UNACCEPTABLE'

Actress ROBIN GIVENS has urged RIHANNA to sever all ties with CHRIS BROWN, recalling her own abusive relationship with ex-husband MIKE TYSON.
The Head Of Class star married the former heavyweight champion in 1988 and hit the headlines after revealing their relationship was filled with violence before they divorced just a year later.
Givens was stunned by a police photo of Rihanna which leaked online - showing the singer's bloodied and bruised face from Brown's vicious attack earlier this year (09) - but she's using her own experience to advise the pop star to end all contact with Brown once and for all.
She tells OKmagazine.com, "I can say that I was the same age, in a very public situation. I have to say that I understand how you can go back (to an abusive lover). I do understand. The first time I was hit, I wasn't married, and I went back. It becomes your project to fix this, and make it right, and make their lives okay. They really have to work on themselves by themselves before you can really engage in a healthy relationship. Know that before you make any decisions.
"When I see that picture of her (Rihanna), I think, 'This is unacceptable.' We can't say, 'What did she do? What did she say to him? Was she looking at his phone?' And I use her name now, but somebody is going through this right now. It's unacceptable."
And when asked what she would tell domestic violence victims like Rihanna, Givens added, "I would say that you can do it - however difficult it seems, however alone you feel, you're not alone...
"You deserve and can have a good life, but chances are, it’s not going to be with that man. And just try to take the first step in the right direction, and then the next step will present itself."
Brown has been ordered to stay away from the Umbrella hitmaker for the duration of his five-year probation period after pleading guilty to assaulting her in Los Angeles on 8 February (09).