Rihanna struggled to cope with the overnight surge in media interest after she was beaten by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, insisting she suddenly became hunted like paparazzi favourite Britney Spears.

The Umbrella hitmaker went into hiding after the vicious bust-up in February, which left her bloodied and bruised, and landed her ex-lover community service and five years probation for assault.

The singer admits she wasn't expecting to be the subject of so much international press attention.

She tells America's Glamour magazine, "It has taught me so much. I felt like I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears. That was the level of media chaos that happened the next day. It was like, What, there are helicopters circling my house? There are 100 people in my cul-de-sac? What do you mean, I can't go back home?"

And she found it difficult to keep quiet after a photo of her injured face, taken after the incident, was allegedly leaked online by police sources.

She adds, "It was humiliating; that is not a photo you would show to anybody. I felt completely taken advantage of. I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the internet, and it's my life. I was disappointed, especially when I found out the photo was (supposedly leaked by) two women."

Two female cops were suspended in September after the horrifying photo was published on celebrity website TMZ.com shortly after the bust-up.