X17 XCLUSIVE - So About Those Rihanna Pictures...

Some pretty graphic pictures of Rihanna surfaced on the internet this afternoon, but this is nothing new - the scandalous photos have been making the rounds for quite some time now, and we're actually amazed that it's taken this long for them to pop up!

Back in November of 2008, X17online, along with several major magazines and blogs were offered the pictures of Rihanna and Cassie - pics that were sent to a mutual ex-flame of both of the singers!

Of course, these pics were being shopped around WAY before the Chris Brown incident, and sources tell X17online exclusively that the pictures were taken months before they were first made available to the media, so even though many websites are speculating that Rihanna sent these to Chris, or that Chris is responsible for this, it appears as though this is all just very coincidental timing. Of course, now is the best time to release them due to the amount of press Rihanna has gotten, but Chris certainly wasn't behind this back in November, and it's highly unlikely that he's involved in it now - these pics were being sold for money, not for revenge.

It's generally been our policy not to release pictures that come from questionable sources, and that are clearly private property, which is why we passed on the pictures of Cassie and Rihanna last fall, and why we haven't posted them here.