Chris Brown is depressed

Chris Brown may have pleaded not guilty in the assault case involving Rihanna but if the latest reports are to be believed, the incident has taken a toll on the singer, who has gone into depression.

The 19-year-old singer, who became a public villain for allegedly beating his girlfriend on February 8, "is in depression and is drinking a lot," Ace Showbiz reported quoting X17.

The singer was charged with two counts of felony --assault and criminal threat-- by a Los Angeles court for allegedly beating his singer girlfriend but has pleaded not guilty on April 6.

Rihanna was left with a badly bruised faced after being assaulted by Brown just hours before they were scheduled to perform at Grammys in an incident which shocked the entire music industry and the public.

Brown's career took a hit after the episode became public as he was boycotted by many radio stations across the country and lost many lucrative endorsement deals.

Brown had reunited with the 'Umbrella' singer weeks after the incident but Rihanna broke up once again when she realised that the public sentiment was against the reunion.

Brown, who faced flak from music industry bigwigs like Jay-Z and Kayne West has been keeping a low-profile while Rihanna has managed to bounce back and has been spotted partying with her close set of friends.

The source said Rihanna is "doing great" and "is trying to put Chris on the back burner. They still have joint business assets so they are still keeping in touch indirectly."

"Rihanna is focusing on her new album. She has a lot of creative control so she is doing it her way. This is the first  time she has been able to do that," the source further said.