Okay, we've been wading through all the rumour and speculation about what went on between Chris Brown and Rihanna on Saturday night/Sunday morning so you don't have to. Well, I say you don't have to, it took quite a while to compile this update, so it would be nice if you read it.
As previously reported, Chris Brown was arrested at the weekend after he allegedly beat up his girlfriend, Rihanna, in the early hours of Sunday morning after a pre-Grammy party.
Reports claim that the couple had been seen arguing earlier in the evening and that the argument continued as Brown drove them home from the party. At some point they both got out of the car and Brown attacked Rihanna, leaving her with injuries including a split lip and bite marks on her arm and hand. Brown was charged with making a criminal threat and released on Sunday after posting $50,000 bail.
According to a source who spoke to E! News, Rihanna is now cooperating with police, who have been asked by the District Attorney to expand their investigation into the incident after their initial report on the matter, delivered to the DA on Tuesday, wasn't deemed sufficient enough to make a decision on charges.
The source claims that the singer told police that Brown had pulled over his silver Lambourghini in LA's Hancock Park area, at which point she had grabbed the keys from the ignition and threw them out of the window.
This act sent Brown into a rage and he allegedly grabbed Rihanna by the neck and shouted "I'm going to kill you". She says that she lost consciousness during the subsequent beating and that when she awoke, Brown had fled the scene.
Rumours pertaining to the cause of the argument have, of course, been spreading like wildfire on the internet. Some sources claim that Brown wanted to end the relationship but Rihanna didn't, others have alleged that Rihanna had given Brown herpes, which, other gossipers say, she had in turn caught from Jay-Z.
Meanwhile, other gossip sites say it was Rihanna's jealousy that caused the falling out - though there are differing reports as to what made the singer jealous, some say it was a "booty call SMS" Brown received from another woman, while others suggest she wasn't happy with her other half flirting with good old Leona Lewis at a pre-Grammys bash.
Stirring further, MediaTakeOut.com have posted what they claim to be a screengrab of Brown's personal Facebook profile, which shows him in an embrace with a mystery woman and features the status update "Christopher Maurice Brown thinks you'll begin to see her true colors. Believe it!" Although this is one of around 70 profiles claiming to belong to Brown, so I'm not sure there's much need to take any notice of it, or this paragraph.
With neither superstar making any further announcements on the affair, and with the police and DA's office commenting only on the logistics of their investigation, it was family members of Brown and Rihanna that the media began to rely on.
Rihanna's grandmother, Clara Brathwaite, played down the scale of her granddaughter's injuries, and denied she'd suffered a broken nose during the altercation. Brathwaite: "I don't want people to worry. Rihanna is fine and she is doing well".
For Brown, it was a former stepfather, Donnelle Hawkins, getting his voice heard, though the R&B star would probably have preferred it if he hadn't. Asked if he believed reports of Brown's violence towards Rihanna, he said simply "I wouldn't be surprised".
Hawkins probably felt the need to make a statement because various news media pondering over the incident have referenced a 2007 interview between Brown and GIANT magazine in which he claimed his former stepfather abused his mother. Hawkins, of course, denies those allegations.
He told AccessHollywood.com: "There was a lot of arguing between his mom and I. I never raised a hand at his mom. We argued frequently… As far as physical abuse, there was no physical abuse".
And so ends our summary of the idle speculation into the Rihanna/Brown affair. If you want hard facts, then we can give you some of those in regards to the commercial impact of the incident. First, Rihanna has now cancelled those planned performances in Malaysia and Jakarta next week, with the promoter for the latter citing "an assault case involving Rihanna's boyfriend" as the reason for the cancellation in a statement.
Meanwhile, Brown continues to have things cancelled by companies he is associated with. Following the news that he was being dropped from a Wrigleys chewing gum ad campaign, he has now been dropped from one of those US 'Got Milk?' adverts. A statement from the Dairy Council reads: " taking the allegations against Chris Brown very seriously. We are very proud and protective of the image of the 'Milk Moustache' campaign and the responsible message it sends to teens. Mr Brown's ad is scheduled to end this week".