You’ve heard from Kanye West, Jay-Z, John Legend, and Paul Wall. Now hear what Rihanna’s close friend and frequent collaborator Ne-Yo had to say about the fight heard around the world.


The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter said he has been in touch with Rihanna since Chris Brown allegedly assaulted her. “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.”

When asked if he had seen the shocking photo circulating around the Internet, Ne-Yo told MTV News, “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. 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. 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.’”

Rihanna’s “Hate That I Love You” duet partner is not jumping to any conclusions though. “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 [that] it had to happen like that, and I’m praying for the both of them.”