Rihanna and Chris Brown stun fans with reconciliation

Fans of singers Chris Brown and Rihanna expressed dismay on Saturday at reports the couple had reunited just three weeks after Brown was alleged to have assaulted her.

Celebrity magazines People and Us Weekly said that the R&B stars were spending time together at the Miami home of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs -- and that Rihanna's father was supporting her decision.

"I love my daughter with whatever road she takes. I'm behind her win or lose. I will be supportive. If that's the road she wants to choose, I'm behind her," Rihanna's dad Ronald Fenty told Us Weekly from his Barbados home.

Fans could scarcely believe the news that came a week after a picture, showing the 21-year-old "Umbrella" singer with bruises to her face and swollen lips, was leaked on the Internet.

"All the abusive men are celebrating," Highroller33138 wrote in a posting on the MTV.com website. "It sets a terrible example for women everywhere. Rihanna really disappointed me."

"Stupid, really stupid. ... I hate women like this," wrote ladyofthelake in a posting on TVGuide.com.

On Friday, People quoted an unidentified source saying the couple, who had been dating for about a year, were back together.

"They care for each other. While Chris is reflective and saddened about what happened, he is really happy to be with the woman he loves," the source told People.

Representatives of Brown, 19, a clean-cut teen artist whose hits include "Run It!", declined comment on the reports. Rihanna's publicist were also not commenting.

Los Angeles prosecutors have yet to decide whether to file charges against Brown after his arrest on February 8 on suspicion of making criminal threats against a woman.

The alleged assault on the eve of the Grammy Awards caused both stars to cancel their scheduled appearances. Brown issued a statement a week after the incident saying he was "sorry and saddened" and seeking counseling.

It's Ike and Tina all over again... Thoughts?

Rihanna 'Appalled' by Chris Brown's Public Apology

Rihanna has not yet come out of her hiding place nor did she comment on her alleged altercation with Chris Brown which occurred last weekend, but a longtime friend of her has revealed to the Chicago Sun-Times that the songstress was "appalled" by the public apology Chris has issued.

Rihanna, according to the source, expected Chris to give details about their blow-up instead of simply saying he was "sorry and saddened" over what has happened.

"All of us, including Rihanna, don't understand how he can say he's sorry on the one hand, but still ... does not admit any guilt," so the Barbados-based friend said. "He should have expressed more contrition."

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, a close associate of Rihanna told the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday, February 16 that the sexy Barbadian performer was "royally pissed off" by Chris' statement. She even branded his comment as "cavalier and arrogant".

It's been more than a week after reports of them getting involved in an alleged physical fight dominate the headlines, but neither Rihanna nor Chris Brown has shared with the public the truth behind the incident. Both of them reportedly have been spending time with respective family and friends.

As of Chris Brown, he in the meantime is awaiting for his next court appearance, scheduled for March 5.

Rihanna releases statement regarding incident

In her first statement since she was allegedly attacked by Chris Brown, Rihanna thanked fans for their support but declined to address the accusations against her boyfriend, citing an ongoing police investigation.

"At the request of the authorities, Rihanna is not commenting about the incident involving Chris Brown," read a statement released by Rubenstein Associates. "She wants to assure her fans that she remains strong, is doing well, and deeply appreciates the outpouring of support she has received during this difficult time."

The statement was released hours after the entertainment gossip website TMZ released a photo that purportedly shows the battered face of the pop star, with bruises on her forehead, bloody lips and other marks on her face.

The Los Angeles Police Department announced it was investigating the leak shortly after the photos were posted Thursday evening. On Friday, Chief William Bratton said his department is conducting an internal investigation, but also a criminal conspiracy case that could result in up to three years in prison.

"It as an embarrassment to this department," Bratton said. He said the agency believes a department employee leaked the photo, and that the department is working to quickly complete separate investigations into Rihanna's beating and the photo's leak.

Brown, 19, is under investigation for an attack on a woman in the hours leading up to this month's Grammy awards in Los Angeles. A person familiar with the situation, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and requested anonymity, has confirmed that the woman was Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty.

Both stars were due to perform at the awards show, but subsequently dropped out; Brown surrendered to the authorities as the ceremony was underway.

Since the alleged attack, both stars have kept a low profile, but Brown did issue a statement of remorse last weekend, saying, in part: "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired." The statement, which also said that he was seeking counselling from a pastor and family members, he did not mention Rihanna.

Friday marked Rihanna's 21st birthday. The platinum-selling singer canceled a planned birthday bash in New York and postponed concerts overseas in the days following the incident.

In related news, TMZ inside sources spilled the numbers that Levin’s minions are believed to have shelled out quite a fair amount for pictures taken of Rihanna immediately after the alleged Chris Brown attack. The source of the photo leak, a law enforcement insider close to the investigation, reportedly raked in $62.5k (US), double the salary of the person suspected of leaking the pic. Sources state TMZ pays a relative or friend of the snitch within 24 hours of receipt of a photo to cover their tracks.

Chris Brown Updates Facebook To Reflect New Super-Jerk Status

As more abuse accusations are made against him, Chris Brown predicts the public will turn on Rihanna. umm, Riiiiiight...

Chris Brown has kept his jaw firmly clamped down on his Wrigley's Doublemint gum since he went from being the next Michael Jackson to the next Joseph Jackson on Sunday, when he was arrested for making threats against girlfriend Rihanna. While the 19-year-old was holed up in his Las Vegas hideout, the Hard Rock Hotel, Chris updated his Facebook page and rocked the News Feed with his lack of remorse. His status read, "You'll begin to see her true colors. Believe it!" He also changed his relationship status to "single," but in a show of denial, has yet to update his "looking for" to "prison daddy."

E! News reports that Chris Brown has now left the Vegas hotel, where he stayed for less than 24 hours, to be with his mom, Joyce Hawkins. Rihanna, meanwhile, is still in Los Angeles, the New York Daily News reports, where she is leaning on friends for support, including her assistant and constant companion Melissa Forde. Chris Brown and Rihanna are staying around L.A. so investigators can re-interview them as they put together a case.

Part of that investigation has police looking into whether or not Chris has been violent towards Rihanna in the past. A diamond-encrusted eye patch she wore at the American Music Awards in November was allegedly for a scratched cornea, the Sun of London reports, although she didn't wear the patch offstage at the awards ceremony. Police are looking into the cause of that injury.

"We're talking to her friends and management, who say she's appeared with mysterious marks or injuries before, but always refused to explain what happened," the source tells the Sun. A member of Rihanna's inner circle told Us Weekly the singer had bruises on her neck in December. TMZ reports that Rihanna told the police the abuse was getting steadily worse as time passed.

Also getting steadily worse: the chances that Chris Brown's nice guy image was grounded in reality. I mean, "her true colors"? What? This is a woman who's got matching forehead contusions. If she files charges, I don't think there's much the world can find out about her that will stop us from giving her a standing ovation every time she walks by.

RIHANNA JOINS 5-YEAR-OLD'S SEARCH FOR DONOR: Singer helps another fan in need of bone marrow transplant.

For the second time in a year, Pop star Rihanna is making an effort to help a leukemia patient find a suitable bone marrow donor for a life-saving transplant.

In February, Rihanna helped New Yorker Lisa Flynn find a match by putting out a call for donors on People.com. The move resulted in more than 5,000 donors added to the DKMS, the world's largest nonprofit marrow donor center. The organization hopes to repeat or even better those numbers with another personal plea from Rihanna through People.com.

"When I saw the video of Jasmina it broke my heart. It is so unfair that for a black patient it's so much harder to find a bone marrow match," the singer tells People. "Jasmina has acute leukemia and she needs a bone marrow transplant to live."

Jasmina’s mother, Thea Amena, who adopted the girl when she was three days old, was "over the moon" when she found out that Rihanna was on board for the bone marrow search.

"My daughter is a huge, huge Rihanna fan," says Amena. "Last year when I was in Best Buy, Jasmina was in the store singing and dancing in front of a huge screen with Rihanna on it. The only way I could pull her away was to buy one of Rihanna's CDs. She's been listening to it ever since."

Katharina Harf of DKMS, which is helping to find a match for Jasmina, said, "When Rihanna found out about Jasmina, she said, 'I absolutely have to help her.' She wanted to do whatever she could for this little girl. Rihanna loves children and no matter how busy she is, she takes time out of her schedule to help them."

Jasmina's best friend, Isabelle Huurman, also 5, and her mother, Karen Detrick, made a video to help "find the one for Jasmina." The two little girls became friends through their mothers, who met at a cocktail party when the children were two and learned that they had adopted their girls from the same adoption agency.

"We always imagined that Jasmina and Isabelle would grow up together and be best friends forever," says Detrick. "Because Jasmina was adopted, there is no information about her extended birth family. While it is possible to find a match for Jasmina among unrelated ethnicities, we are far more likely to find a match among African-Americans. We are asking people of all ethnicities to join the registry today."

DKMS says that the process is extremely simple:

Request a donor kit from DKMS (http://www.dkmsamericas.org/category/marrow-donors/become-donor); once it arrives, swab the inside of your cheeks and send back the kit. For more information on how to help, please visit www.DKMSAmericas.org.