Eminem and Rihanna’s chart-topping collaboration “Love the Way You Lie” touches on an issue close to home for both stars—domestic violence. Despite the song’s content, Rihanna had no second thoughts about jumping on it.

“It’s something that we’ve both experienced on different sides, different ends of the table,” she told “Access Hollywood.” “[Eminem] pretty much just broke down the cycle of domestic violence and it’s something that people don’t have a lot of insight on.”

A victim of abuse herself, Rihanna knew the rapper reached out for reasons other than the obvious. “Eminem is an artist of class and I knew if he sent me a record there must be something to it. It couldn’t just be, ‘Oh, duh! She was in that relationship so we have to get her.'”

The words resonated with the pop star, plus it didn’t hurt that she thought the track was a hit. “The lyrics were so deep, so beautiful and intense. It’s something that I understood, something I connected with, which made me think it was a hit and I want to be a part of a hit, so of course I couldn’t say no to Eminem.”

The video for “Love the Way You Lie” was shot last week in Los Angeles and co-stars actors Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan. It is expected to premiere sometime this week.