Eight months ago, photos of Rihanna surfaced after a fight with then-boyfriend Chris Brown. Since then, Rihanna has kept silent about her personal nightmare.

But now, as she does media tours promoting her new album Rated R, she is speaking out about her experience and hopes that she can be a positive influence and help other people start the conversation about domestic violence.

“Domestic violence is a big secret. No kid goes around and lets people know their parents fight. Teenage girls can’t tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up. You don’t dare let your neighbor know that you fight. It’s one of the things we will hide, because it’s embarrassing,” she told Glamour Magazine.

“I’ve put everything I’ve wanted to say for the past eight months into my music,” she said. “It’s super fearless, which is exactly how I feel right now.”

After news broke of Rihanna’s specific injuries, some speculated she may need plastic surgery to remove scars left by blows to her lip and nose, but there were no reports that anything was done.

Many times stars use fractional laser skin resurfacing to get rid of scarring from acne or injuries because of the fast healing time. Other speculative sites, such as AwfulPlasticSurgery.com, allege that she has been the recipient of breast augmentation, however.

Rihanna’s new album, Rated R, will release November 23.