Oprah Winfrey Will Dedicate an Entire Show Next Week to All "the Rihannas of the World"

Just one day after Chris Brown's appearance before a judge in an L.A. courtroom, talk show queen and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey announced that she will dedicate an entire episode of her show next week to domestic violence and all the "Rihanna's of the world." She stated, "One in four woman suffer from domestic violence, and those are the same statistics for young girls."

Oprah became so impassioned on Friday's show, as the Rihanna case became the topic of conversation, that she emphatically stated, "If a man hits you once, he will hit you again." On her advice to Rihanna, she stated, "Get yourself some counseling. Give it some time to heal yourself. Love doesn't hurt."

Robyn Rihanna Fenty, known as Rihanna, is a Barbadian singer, model and former beauty queen. She is the first Barbadian artist to win a Grammy Award, and is is currently signed to Def Jam Recordings Label. Rihanna broke into the recording industry in 2005 with the release of her debut album, Music of the Sun. In 2007, she released her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad. Along the way, Rihanna scored five Billboard Hot 100 number ones.

In the early hours of February 8th, recording artist boyfriend Chris Brown allegedly repeatedly punched Rihanna in the face, drove away, and continued to punch her while steering the vehicle. A police report states that Brown also put Rihanna in a headlock, and that she almost lost consciousness. Eventually, Rihanna screamed for help, and Brown got out of the car. A nearby resident heard the calls for help and dialed 911.

Chris Brown was charged with two felony counts in his alleged assault on girlfriend Rihanna. The big question is whether Rihanna will testify against her boyfriend in court. If convicted, Brown could face more than four years in state prison. Los Angeles defense lawyer and former prosecutor Steve Sitkoff told People magazine on Friday (March 6) about the alleged victim in the case, who reportedly reunited with Brown last weekend at a home owned by Diddy in Miami. "At this point, her cooperation can make or break the case. But the DAs may not need her if Brown is willing to strike a plea deal."

Is this a case of an abused woman refusing to accept the cold, hard reality that her boyfriend is a physical abuser, yet she stays with him? This is often the case in domestic abuse cases. Only time will tell. In the meantime, Oprah plans to shed a light on this serious and continuing problem on one of her shows next week. Leave it to the talk show queen to get the message out loud and clear.