DUST UP

Chris Brown Repents For Rihanna Rift On Larry King Live

By Shakenya Jackson

ANCIENT MEDIA ICON LARRY KING boasts the first interview with Chris Brown since his felony assault conviction for hitting then-girlfriend Rihanna during a pre-Grammy scuffle in February.

In the hour-long interview, which aired Wednesday night, Brown and his mother Joyce Hawkins served up only what they wanted to share and not what everyone wanted to know.

When asked by King in a roundabout way to tell us, the public, the fans, what the hell happened to make Brown lose control and physically assault his girlfriend, he responded with the old, privacy defense and the, "I feel like I owe it to her [Rihanna] not to talk about that" reply.

That was kind of a pansy response in light of all the YouTube footage full of apologies with Brown stating that he's "not a monster."

Brown's lawyer acted like, well, a lawyer for most of the show, swatting away some penetrating personal questions when necessary.

However the trio did spill some juice, with Brown's reflections coming through loud and clear along with the emotions of his mom.

He described the night of the attack -- which garnered Brown five years probation, six months of "community labor" and a one-year domestic-violence program -- as one he wishes "he could take back." He claimed absolute ownership for the events that took place.

Not only that, but the baby blue clad Brown, topped with a matching, polka-dotted bowtie, professed to not only still being in love with Rihanna, but to also conceive of spending a lifetime with her.

Wow.

Well, that's just not legally possible, at least for the next five years. The pair have been ordered to stay away from each other with a stern warning by the judge to keep all tomfoolery, sneaking-around and foolishness to a minimum.

Brown described the protection-order-- which prohibits the two from being near each other except for work-related issues (and even then to stay 10 yards apart) as "difficult," especially considering that the two work in the same industry.

It's probably extremely difficult when one of the parties involved admits to still loving the other and you both like to jet ski together after the incident.

Brown explained the now infamous photos of him on a jet-ski at Puffy-P.Diddy-Puff Daddy-Sean Jean Combs mansion days after the incident were of him and and Rihanna "rekindling their friendship," which sounds like celebrity-legal, jargon for "making up."

It's important to note that the jet-skiing happened prior to the judge's order to stay apart.

Rekindling or whatever aside, Brown states definitively that the pair are no longer an item. He admits that though he would be jealous should she start seeing someone else, he wishes her the best stating, "If she's happy, I'm cool."

During the interview, Brown says there were times while growing up that he would be afraid to go to bed because of the domestic violence in his home. But his mother, who was the victim of that violence, said she doesn't believe that a person will become an abuser because he has witnessed it.

Hawkins even cried, saying, "I was really hurt. I really care about her and my son."

After playing footage of Brown's appearance on the Tyra Banks' show where he speaks out against domestic violence saying it made him treat women differently, King asks Brown, "What happened?"

"I made a mistake."

Although Brown doggedly refused to answer questions about personal conversations or what exactly happened in the car, he repeatedly says that he did apologize to Rihanna and that it was "one of those nights I wish I could take back."

Brown stated that he knew he could use his celebrity status to influence and affect more people than he would picking up trash, but he didn't argue with his sentence and called it "fair."

Brown also expressed optimism for the future: "I don't think, at the end of the day, my career is over."

Shakenya Jackson boasts she is among Chicago's finest writers. She enjoys long walks in the park and dirty dishes.