Rihanna’s alleged assault sparks advice video

THE alleged beating of singer Rihanna has inspired an online public service announcement about dating violence.

A new video by the teenage organisation Do Something.org features actors recreating the pop star’s grim, highly publicised confrontation with her boyfriend, singer Chris Brown.

A young man and woman re-enact details from a Los Angeles police affidavit, which claimed that, on February 8, Brown punched, bit and choked Rihanna until she nearly lost consciousness.

A narrator describes the violent scene in a deadpan voice.

“We didn’t want to be over-dramatic,” said chief executive officer of Do Something.org, Nancy Lu-blin.

“Our goal was not to shoot a Lifetime TV movie... There was no need to sensationalise things. It was bad enough.”

The brief clip, which can be viewed on YouTube, closes with the statistic that one in three teenagers is abused in a relationship, and promotes free bracelets — one blue, two black — that spread awareness about dating abuse.

Ms Lublin said the goal was to make people think and change their behaviour.

The organisation used white actors on purpose to shift the conversation away from the black celebrity singers.

“The public is very focused right now on Chris and Rihanna,” she said.

“I think people need to realise that this is an issue that goes beyond those particular people and it affects everybody of every race. And so we wanted this to not be an exact re-enactment. We wanted instead to say: Could this be you?”