Last month Rihanna and Herpes News were like this:

Way back when the Rumble in the Lambo first happened, in a post for XXL, I laid out the theory that Chris Brown may have been pissed at Rihanna because she gave him herpes. At the time, Rihanna had been pictured walking around with a nasty cold sore on her lips, and the next thing you know Chris Brown put his shoe on her.

I'd all but forgotten about this until just now, when I saw on Sandra Rose - the same place I saw that picture of Rihanna with the herp - that GQ asked her if she really has herpes.

Her response:

… it’s not true. It’s a f*cking scar. On my lip. That’s there every day of my life… At first I was like, Are you serious? First I thought people were gonna definitely know that that’s not…But when I read it, and I see that people just buy into that…Like, the minute they see it, it forms something in their head.

I can't help but be reminded of Cassie's response when someone asked her whether that song "Me and You" is really about giving a guy a blowski, never mind the fact that she didn't write the song herself. How should she know what it's about?

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And today:

Rihanna is not pleased with celebrity gossip sites insinuating that a nasty disease was the reason ex-boyfriend Chris Brown smashed her face to a pulp last year.

In an interview with GQ, she addressed rumors that Brown lashed out at her after spotting a cold sore on her lip - a common sign of the STD known as herpes.

Now dating Matt Kemp, Rihanna wants the record set straight, noting that the alleged cold sore is actually just a facial scar she has had for most of her life.

"It's not true," she said of the herpes rumor, and her tone was far from light-hearted. "It's just a f**king scar. On my lip. That's there every day of my life."

Well that settles that. Not that you can even see it ...

Rihanna has set the record straight. She does not, nor did she ever have herpes. She does, however, have kind of a dude's haircut. [Photo: PacificCoastNewsOnline.com]

I think the worst part of herpes virus is the day you need to tell your partner! I was so nervous each time.
It’s important to have the full support of your lover. One of the biggest obstacles to imagining an outbreak free future is the fear of giving herpes to your partner. Please do treat your herpes and please do practice safer sex with a condom/dental dam and an anti-viral gel, this will ease your mind, but it’s not enough. I stopped having outbreaks when my girlfriend at the time told me that she wasn’t afraid of getting herpes from me. This powerful declaration set me free.

I was no longer anxious when we were having sex. I never had an outbreak in the time we were together and have only had three in the past seven years, with only one in the past three years despite having a very busy and demanding holistic viral practice which often leaves me with no sleep and little time to eat on a regular schedule. If you have a partner who is very nervous about getting herpes from you, you may want to consider getting another partner or finding a way of addressing your partner’s fears because the anxiety from a fearful partner and your own fear of infecting an uninfected person will often be enough to keep the cycle of outbreaks happening.

The last piece of advice I have to offer in this note is to stop seeing yourself as a victim. You are a human being. You can practice safer sex to protect your partner and yourself. Herpes is no big deal - just be honest!