Rihanna remembers growing up in Barbados as being "just a little island girl riding bikes, running around barefoot and flying kites in the cemetery," but her childhood home wasn't as free. Her father's drinking problems would lead to tense moments. "Fridays would be scary because he would come home drunk," she told Rolling Stone in 2011. "He'd get paid, and half of it would go toward alcohol. He'd walk in the door, and it was all eyes on him."
The future pop star could feel the temperature in the house go up whenever domestic violence was around the corner, previously telling ABC News, "[My parents] had a very abusive relationship. My dad was the abuser. [He hit her] on numerous accounts." She added, "I don't want to say normal, but it wasn't a surprise when it happened. She never went to the hospital ... Domestic violence is not something that people want anybody to know."
Though her mother was the primary victim of her father's outbursts, Rihanna recalled a time when she was punished for wanting to stay at the beach 10 minutes longer. "He slapped me so hard," she revealed to Rolling Stone. "I ran home with his handprint on me. I couldn't believe it. My mother saw my face, how traumatized I was. You know how, when you know you did something wrong, and you deserve to get beat? This was out of nowhere."
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