Chris Brown's cousin says she believes the star must have been provoked to allegedly attack his girlfriend Rihanna after the pre-Grammy party on Sunday morning.

Phylicia Thompson is the latest member of Brown's family to defend the R&B star in the wake being charged with criminal threats.

She told US television news show Extra: "It had to be something to provoke him for Chris to do it (sic). He wouldn’t have done it just to be having fun.

"Yes, he’s done something wrong, because he put his hands on her (Rihanna), but you don’t know what happened. He had to be provoked to do it. Everybody loved Chris... This comes as a surprise to me."

According to Eonline, it's claimed that Brown told Rihanna he was going to kill her while strangling her. TMZ.com claims Rihanna suffered bite marks to her arms and fingers, two “huge contusions” to the head and a bloodied lip.

19-year-old Brown has been dropped from a number of advertising campaigns and has cancelled several public appearances since being charged.

(by Scott Colothan)