After living under a high-powered microscope for the past four months, pop
princess Rihanna will finally face the music and her estranged beau and alleged
abuser Chris Brown to testify during a pretrial hearing at Los Angeles Superior
Court today. Brown's lawyer requested a delay but was denied by the California
Supreme Court.
There have been reports that the 21-year-old Barbadian beauty
was reluctant to take the stand against the 20-year-old R&B crooner who
faces two felony charges of assault, but her attorney Donald Etra sets the
record straight.
"No, she always understood from the very beginning that she
would testify if she were called to do so," Etra tells ESSENCE.com in an
exclusive interview. "So there was never any apprehension on her part
whatsoever."
Although the "Umberlla" singer has not spoken publicly about the
alleged physical altercation in Los Angeles, she appears to have weathered the
hailstorm of media by staying on the scene and putting her best fashionable foot
forward.
"I think the fact that she has returned to her normal life and
career is extremely brave," says Etra. "She deserves a tremendous amount of
credit and respect for that because it's not easy."
The pretrial hearing
marks the second time that the estranged couple has shared the same public space
after their alleged lovers-quarrel-gone-awry on February 8, including the recent
appearance during Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Orlando, Florida, although neither
acknowledged one another before sneaking off to two different private
lounges.
Despite the media frenzy surrounding the case and Chris Brown's
attorney, Mark Geragos, trying to seize LAPD police records to uncover who
leaked the photo of a bruised and battered Rihanna, Etra has not allowed the
intrusiveness to deflect his strategy.
"Hollywood is used to the media, and I
personally respect the media," Etra shares. "My only strategy is what it has
always been, and that is to advise my client to tell the truth."
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