FAMILY & FRIENDS SUPPORT CHRIS

Chris' older sister, Lytrell "Tootie" Bundy, and his wardrobe stylist, Mike "B" Bogard, have spoken up on his behalf.

Brown's sister told Extra, "He's always been a good boy — never violent." When asked how he's handling the situation, she said, "He's doing good. He's coping."

"Chris is all right," Bogard told People.com. "He's a good kid. He feels very bad that something like this has happened."

Bogard expanded a bit when talking to Vibe, saying, "Chris is a very good kid. I do not know the situation in its full entirety because I was not in the car [with them that night], but from what I know, Chris and Rihanna's relationship ... it was real. They loved each other."

Sources have told MTV News that Brown and Rihanna's relationship had grown rocky in recent weeks. Brown has said in the past that his former stepfather, Donnelle Hawkins, abused his mother, although Hawkins denied that charge on Tuesday.

When asked how Brown is doing, Bogard said, "He's better off than me if I, or anybody else, was in his situation. Chris is a blessed child. We'll leave it in God's hands."

People quoted an unidentified friend of the singer as saying, "You can tell everybody that Chris really feels bad about the whole situation, about it coming out the way that it happened, the way he went about it, the way she went about it ... it's just a wack situation."

The friend added that the situation was "not as bad as everybody is trying to gas it up to be," and was uncertain whether Brown and Rihanna have spoken since the incident.

"I can't say," the friend said. "Maybe they don't want anybody to know whether they've spoken or not. You have to wait for Chris to say something."