E! News is reporting that Rihanna was discharged from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Monday night in a operation that involved a back exit and a decoy to throw off the media.
The pop star, who is now reportedly back in her Barbados hometown, was hospitalized for injuries suffered during an assault early Sunday morning, allegedly at the hands of her boyfriend, singer Chris Brown.
By all media accounts, Rihanna’s face is badly beaten. A source for TMZ.com said the bruises made her “look like an MMA fighter or something.”
Her specific injuries, however, have yet to be confirmed. Police sources for TMZ and People.com said Rihanna came to the hospital Sunday morning with two huge red and blue contusions, which swelled up on both sides of her forehead, a swollen, split lip and a bloody nose.
Brown was arrested Sunday evening and charged with suspicion of making criminal threats in which a victim “is in fear for [his/her] life.” Police say more charges, including one for domestic violence, could be added when the case is handed over to the L.A. District Attorney’s Office.
Brown and Rihanna began arguing while riding in his rented Lamborghini following Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy party Saturday night. The fight escalated and became physical when they got out of the car.
E! News is also reporting that a source close to the investigation told them that Rihanna has alleged to police that Brown choked her while threatening to kill her and, subsequently, she lost consciousness.
The source also says that the responding officers were so concerned about her, they drove Rihanna to the hospital in their squad car instead of waiting for an ambulance.
Although a motive for the alleged beating has not been reported, a source for gossip blogger Janet Charlton says “Rihanna had supposedly found numbers in Chris’s phone that he shouldn’t have. She grabbed the car keys and pretended to toss them out the window. He freaked out and let her have it. And we also heard this has happened before.”
Rihanna has postponed her scheduled Feb. 13 concert in Malaysia. Also cancelled due to recent events is Rihanna’s planned 21st birthday party, which was to take place at a club in New York City.
