Rihanna needs space

Mar 19, 2009, 10:00 GMT

The 21-year-old pop star -Last week, Rihanna. Producer Evan Rogers, who discovered the Barbados-born beauty, insists Rihanna - whose boyfriend Chris Brown has been charged with felony assault and making criminal threats after allegedly assaulting her - is confused by the conflicting advice she has been given. © A. Gilbert / PR Photos

Rihanna's mentor has begged people to stop discussing the singer's private life.

Producer Evan Rogers, who discovered the Barbados-born beauty, insists Rihanna - whose boyfriend Chris Brown has been charged with felony assault and making criminal threats after allegedly assaulting her - is confused by the conflicting advice she has been given.

He said: "I think that everyone has good intentions and means well, but it turns up the heat in terms of it seeming like the whole world is telling her what to do. At the end of the day, people forget that, at 21, your perspective is very different. These kinds of things can happen to anyone, whether you're a celebrity or not."

Evan added Rihanna is amazed by the amount of attention her situation has attracted, and is desperate to put the incident behind her.

He explained: "I think she's very aware of everything that's going on. Just like anyone else, she watches TV, she goes online. And I think that it matters to her, but there's a line that she walks between being human and caring when you hear these kinds of things, and separating your personal life from your professional life. She's doing the best she can and this is a very difficult time that she's going through right now and she's going to learn a lot from it."

Chris, 19, is accused of hitting, biting and choking Rihanna during an altercation in his rented Lamborghini.

The pair spent time apart after the incident, but are believed to have reconciled during a stay at P. Diddy's Miami mansion. New reports suggest Rihanna and Chris are now taking time away from each other to contemplate the future of their relationship.

After the incident, US talk show host Oprah Winfrey urged Rihanna to leave Chris on her hugely popular TV series, claiming a man who had hit a woman once "would do it again".

Singer Whitney Houston - who was the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband Bobby Brown - also told the 'Umbrella' singer not to reconcile with Chris.