Rihanna On Chris Brown Assault: “I Was Hurt The Most”

Rihanna‘s exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey airs Sunday August 19, and though the two will cover a range of topics in their Barbados-set chat, the most anticipated part of the conversation is clearly Rihanna’s thoughts on her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. In a tearful preview, the singer tells Oprah she mourns the loss of her “best friend”, and said that “he made that mistake because he needed help… Nobody’s gonna say he needs help. Everybody’s gonna say he’s a monster.”

In a new preview clip, Winfrey asks the 24-year-old if she understands why the incident became such a big deal to the public. “Absolutely, absolutely, but nobody could feel that more than me,” she says. “I was hurt the most. Nobody felt what I felt.”

“It happened to me,” she continues. “And it happened to me in front of the world. It was embarrassing, it was humiliating, it was hurtful. You know, it’s not easy.”

Moving on to less heavy subjects, Oprah asks RiRi what it feels to be called the sexiest woman in the world by Esquire magazine. “It’s inaccurate, but flattering.” (For the record, 30 Rock‘s Katrina Bowden was named sexiest by the mag in 2011, though Rihanna was on the list.)

Esquire also described RiRi as “the essence of… the F-word”, paraphrases Oprah. The pop star’s response? “I don’t even know what that even means!” We’re not really sure either, RiRi.

The full interview airs on Oprah’s Next Chapter on Sunday August 19 at 9 p.m. on OWN.