Rihanna is fine, says Ne-Yo

Washington, Feb 24 (ANI): R and B star Ne-Yo has revealed he has spoken to Rihanna since the alleged incident between the singer and Chris Brown, and insists that she's coping well.

The 'Umbrella' hitmaker has been keeping a low profile since the alleged altercation but Ne-Yo, who is close friends with the pair, insists she is doing fine.

"I spoke to Rihanna. She says she's fine. She didn't go into detail about what happened. I understand it's a painful situation; I didn't push," Contactmusic quoted him, as telling MTV.com.

Brown was arrested and charged by Los Angeles police with making criminal threats following the alleged attack on 8 February (09), which is said to have left Rihanna needing hospital treatment.

A picture of what seems to be a badly bruised Rihanna was later posted on celebrity website TMZ.com.

Ne-Yo has expressed how hurt he was by the situation - and plans to speak to Brown to find out exactly what happened.

"I saw the picture. That just really - that hurt me to my heart, man. Again, I still don't know what happened, 'cause I haven't had the opportunity to talk to Chris yet. But to take it to that level really hurt my heart," he said.

"All I can say is, I'm praying for both of them. They're both in my prayers. I haven't had a chance to talk to Chris yet. I just wanna sit down and talk to that dude and just explain if he doesn't understand: 'That's not something that's excusable, bruh (sic). You have to get a little smarter about whatever it is going on in your relationship. You have to get a little smarter about how you handle certain situations.

"I'm not going to crucify him. I'm not going to do that. That's still my homeboy at the end of the day. For it to go to that level was wrong. I won't say who was responsible. I won't pick no sides. I'm just saying it was wrong," he added. (ANI)