Rihanna shocked by un-supportive reaction to her Chris Brown duet

Her song 'Birthday Cake' has been remixed to feature her former boyfriend, who was convicted of physical assault against her in 2009. Rihanna returned the favour by appearing in his new song 'Turn Up The Music'.

"The whole thing caught me a little off-guard to be honest," Rihanna told Esquire. "Especially the amount of … negative attention."

"It never occurred to me how this was going to be a problem. It really didn't. I thought people were gonna be surprised that we did a record. I didn't see how people could think it was a bad thing. In my mind, it was just music."

And she insists its only music, stressing that she and Chris will not be hooking up in a romantic sense.

"[It's] in a completely professional environment. And on a complete professional note," said Rihanna. "I mean, if I went back to him [as a girlfriend], then that’s a whole different discussion."

"I think a lot of people jumped to an assumption that was incorrect, and they ended up looking stupid. Because of a song. How stupid."

"If I was together with every collaborator I worked with … f--k my life," she added.