When CHRIS BROWN beat up RIHANNA in February of 2009, she was "angry, hurt and betrayed."  But at the same time, she was also worried about Chris. 

In a newly-released clip from this Sunday's interview with OPRAH, Rihanna says, "It was a weird, confusing space to be in . . . just felt like he made that mistake because he needed help . . . and who's going to help him?"

She added, "Nobody's going to say he needs help.  Everybody's going to say he's a monster without looking at the source, and I was more concerned about him."

Here's video.  The interview airs Sunday night at 9:00 P.M. on OWN.