In an interview with People.com, Tyrese Gibson spoke out in support of his friend [artist id="1961441"]Chris Brown[/artist], as well as [artist id="1940303"]Rihanna[/artist].

"Although he appears to be really strong through all of this, it's really taking a toll on his spirit," [artist id="500995"]Gibson [/artist] reportedly told the site on Sunday at the 2009 Ball Up Street Ball Tour in Los Angeles. "People like me and Puff [Diddy], we're just trying to show him love and keep his spirits up while he's going through all of the heat, and there are a lot people doing the same for Rihanna."

Since news broke in February of the [article id="1606481"]alleged altercation between Brown and Rihanna[/article], the pair reportedly reunited -- staying at [article id="1606715"]Diddy's Miami home[/article] -- but are now reportedly taking a break. Yet conversation around the incident has continued to rage, and was even the subject of a special episode of [article id="1606927"]"The Oprah Winfrey Show"[/article] earlier this month and a disturbing public service announcement from the teen organization [article id="1607405"]DoSomething.org[/article].

Gibson also pointed out that the two are still quite young, which makes the situation even more difficult. "And a lot of people forget that he's 19, she's only 21.

"It's really hard for him to focus right now on his music, even though he really wants to," Gibson continued. "At the end of the day, I'm not trying to justify it because wrong is wrong, but unfortunately, us as entertainers, we have to grow up onstage with a lot of people looking at us."