Chris Brown and Rihanna
Rihanna cares for Chris Brown even after he brutally assaulted her in 2009 Polk/Getty Images for NARAS

Rihanna's father Ronald Fenty has opened up about his daughter's former boyfriend Chris Brown. The 27-year-old FourFiveSeconds hitmaker has kept her dating life away from the spotlight after parting ways with Brown.

In 2009, the Loyal singer had assaulted the five-time Grammy winner. He hit her so forcefully that she had major bruising on her face, a split lip and a bloody nose. Following that, the We Found Love singer had vowed never to date rappers like Brown and Drake again.

"Chris will always have a place in our family and my heart," Fenty told the Mirror. "He respects me, calls me pops and I like him — despite what happened. He's very talented and always humble. I'd support them being together."

He recalled the tough time the B***h Better Have My Money singer had to go through following the incident. Fenty said: "It was a very difficult time for the whole family. Nobody wants to see their daughter hurt. I remember I had a phone call from one of her old security guards, he told me he and a biker gang were going to ride to Chris for revenge. I told them to give me a few days because I felt like doing it myself, you know? I was going to fly in, get picked up from LAX and ride to Chris' place so I could do it myself."

"When I called him the next day to arrange everything I cooled down and put a stop to it. She doesn't know about this, she was going through enough," he added.