US R&B star Ne-Yo has spoken of the pain he felt following the emergence of an apparent picture of Rihanna, which appeared to show the singer with facial injuries.

“That just really - that hurt me to my heart, man,” Ne-Yo said.

The picture, which appeared online last Friday (February 20th), is believed to have been taken as part of a police investigation into an alleged attack involving Rihanna's boyfriend, singer Chris Brown.

Brown was questioned by police earlier this month following a complaint of assault from an unknown woman, reported to be Rihanna, in Los Angeles.

In an interview with MTV, Ne-Yo, who is friends with both stars, said he had made attempts to talk to both Brown and Rihanna before commenting on the alleged incident.

"I spoke to Rihanna. She says she's fine,” he said. “She didn't go into detail about what happened. I understand it's a painful situation; I didn't push."

Ne-Yo said he hadn't had the “opportunity” to speak with Brown - but insisted that he wouldn't "crucify him".

He added: “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'."

"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."

In a statement on Saturday (February 21st), Rihanna's spokesperson said the singer wouldn't be commenting about the incident.

Her spokesperson added that the singer wanted to “assure her fans that she remains strong”.

Brown has already issued an apology and has said he is seeking counselling. The singer is also reported to have made attempts to contact Rihanna.

Both Brown and Rihanna missed the Grammy Awards on February 8th - the day of the alleged assault.

(by Jason Gregory)