The brouhaha surrounding the altercation between Chris Brown and Rihanna continued over the weekend with the LAPD launching an internal affairs investigation to determine who leaked a controversial photo of an alleged victim of domestic abuse. While the police department investigates the source of the leak, others continue to question the photo's authenticity as well as the ethics of its release.

Gossip website TMZ.com, which published the photo of a bruised Rihanna Feb. 19, reportedly obtained the photo legally and believes posting it helps present both sides of the story.

In an interview with Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, TMZ's Harvey Levin confirmed that the LAPD has launched an internal investigation to determine who leaked the photo. TMZ published a link to the LAPD press release which apparently confirmed the authenticity of the photo by saying it has "the appearance of one taking during an official Domestic Violence investigation."

The LAPD said the unauthorized release of the photograph immediately generated an internal investigation. "The Los Angeles Police Department takes seriously its duty to maintain the confidentiality of victims of domestic violence," the statement read. "A violation of this type is considered serious misconduct, with penalties up to and including termination."

Though the police department continues to conceal the victim's identity, a statement issued on Rihanna's behalf directly confirms she was involved in the Feb. 8 "incident." The statement, published by E! Online said, "At the request of the authorities, Rihanna is not commenting about the incident involving Chris Brown. She wants to assure her fans that she remains strong, is doing well, and deeply appreciates the outpouring of support she has received during this difficult time."

Rihanna has kept a fairly low profile since the incident; her record label reportedly canceled plans to throw her a 21st birthday bash in New York City. In addition to the cancellation of a birthday party, Rihanna also reportedly canceled a scheduled Oscar performance.

A New York Post report claims that the singer was supposed to be a surprise guest on last night's (2/22) Academy Awards show but she had to cancel because she is still recovering from the alleged attack.