Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie," featuring Rihanna, puts emotional candor — in both the video and the song — front and center. Given the very public abusive relationships Rihanna and Em have gone through, many fans believe the artists drew from personal experience for the collaboration.

Concertgoers waiting for the singer's Last Girl on Earth Tour stop in New York City on Thursday (August 12) told MTV News that the "Umbrella" singer's tumultuous past with ex-beau Chris Brown informed her performance in "Lie."

"I would say it's like the Chris Brown situation, just because they go from hating each other then loving each other then back to hating each other and all this stuff,"
Stephanie Gutez observed about the "Lie" video, which features Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan as a feuding couple. "That's how Rihanna and Chris Brown pretty much are."

Video director Joseph Kahn has insisted that while relationship abuse is an issue that Em and Rihanna have dealt with, the video isn't about either star's past. Although Rihanna doesn't mention any of her ex-loves by name in the song, Nicole Hollins is convinced the singer has Brown in mind.

"She's just talking about ... hurt, but she loves the way he's hurting her. In that relationship ... she was abused by him," Hollins said. "So it's little hints in the song that [sound] like it's referring to Chris Brown. I think it is. I don't care what anyone says."

Cassidy Santos said the video has a cautionary message, warning people about what happens when love goes too far.

"I thought it was interesting how [Rihanna] and Eminem compared the way their lives were," Santos said. "Since what happened with Chris Brown, it showed that people shouldn't do that to women."

Rebecca Snoddy said "Lie" keeps it real about the difficulties that any couple, famous or otherwise, must contend with.

"I think it depicted [the relationship] in a way that's honest and truthful like any other relationship would be," Snoddy said.