TMZ boss Harvey Levin has defended publishing a picture of pop star Rihanna following her alleged brawl with boyfriend Chris Brown earlier this month.

Last Thursday, TMZ staff published a photo of a battered woman they allege is Rihanna following the beating delivered by Brown. The Los Angeles Police Department has launched an investigation into the leaking of the picture.

Levin has defended running the “horrifying” shot. The professional gossip insists that it is important to show “both sides” of the explosive story.

In an appearance on FOX News’ On The Record Friday, Levin said: “It is a photograph of Rihanna that was taken shortly after the alleged beating a couple of weeks ago. We, obviously, believed at the time, convincingly, that it was Rihanna and put it up on the site. … I’m not saying anything bad at all about the LAPD. I mean, what they needed to do, they felt, was conduct an internal-affairs investigation because they felt there was a leak. In so doing … they did authenticate the picture.”

“Chris Brown is not going to just say, ‘I’m going to lie down on this one and not fight’. I guarantee you that Chris Brown is going to mount a defence in this case. I know that. He will mount a defence in this case. So, the picture is not the be-all and the end-all, as far as he’s concerned… But what it does do is it puts a face on what both sides really have been kind of leaking out over the last couple of weeks… Well, the bottom line is, here’s the photograph, here’s the end result. And frankly, I think it’s pretty horrifying.”

Do you think TMZ should have published the Chris Brown-Rihanna beating photo?