Rihanna will make her first public comments about her assault at the hands of Chris Brown during a two-part interview this week on ABC.

The singer's interview with Diane Sawyer will air Thursday and Friday on "Good Morning America" and Friday evening on the news magazine "20/20."

Brown's widely publicized attack on Rihanna occurred in the early hours of Feb. 8, the day of the Grammys. He was sentenced in August to five years' probation, six months of community labor and a year of domestic violence counseling after pleading guilty to felony assault. He has expressed remorse for the incident, but also posted controversial videos in which he insists he "ain't a monster." Last week he posted on Twitter a slide show of pictures showing him with Rihanna (before the assault) accompanied by his song "The Way We Used To Be." IM SORRY YALL. JUST HAD TO POST IT," he wrote. He added, "Showing emotion doesn't make u weak... BEING HONEST MAKES U STRONG."

Rihanna has stayed mum on the incident, but an ABC promo says the singer "tells her story" in the interview, "revealing publicly for the first time what happened last February."

ELTON JOHN AILING: Elton John has been hospitalized in London after suffering from a case of E. coli bacterial infection and the flu, his spokesman said Monday. But as of now, his scheduled Nov. 17 concert in San Jose co-starring Billy Joel is still on.

Gary

Farrow, John's spokesman, said the pop star hopes to be released soon but has been forced to cancel concerts in England, Ireland and in Seattle and Portland. But John plans to return to action on the Nov. 17 date at HP Pavilion. The Daily Mail's Web site quoted John's partner, David Furnish, as saying "He's OK; he's fine," after leaving a London hospital.

FLYING HIGH: Gisele Bündchen is close to coming in for a landing on her pilot's license. Though the model and wife of San Mateo-born football star Tom Brady is eight months pregnant, she is till working at finishing the requirements for the license.

"Gisele hasn't finished her license yet, but she did pass her written exam," says Keith Douglass, president of Shoreline Aviation, a company that provides private jets and aviation lessons. "Now, there's one more step along the way, the practical exam (in the air), which is coming up in another week."

Bundchen, 29, who is expecting her first child with Brady, "has been doing an excellent job," Douglass adds. "She's very dedicated. She flies at least three days a week. Flying a helicopter isn't easy — it's a handful, because you can't stop flying and just cruise, but she's doing great."

One of her biggest challenges is the baby bump, Douglass adds.. "She's almost to a point where she's too big to be flying," says Douglass. "She needs to be able to move the rutter around and she's getting there."

LENO BACKS LETTERMAN, KIND OF: In an interview with trade publication Broadcasting & Cable, Jay Leno sort of defends his friend and former late-night-TV rival David Letterman, who was recently forced to admit he had sexual affairs with his staff members after being targeted by an alleged extortion scheme.

Leno said while he "wouldn't trade places with (Letterman) now for anything," he doesn't believe the sex scandal will affect Letterman's reputation, as he "never pretended to be Mr. Moral America":

"Dave has never set himself up as (a model citizen," Leno says in the interview. "If it were me, it would kill me. I'm the guy who's been married 29 years. But Dave has never pretended to be Mr. Moral America, he's never set himself up that way. He's not a hypocrite. ... He doesn't do corporate days like me, he's not as advertiser-friendly as I am. I'm the guy when Coke or Pepsi is here, I come down and shake hands and take pictures, but he doesn't do that. I don't think it will have a big effect at all."

Leno also says he wishes he had stayed put at "The Tonight Show" — he's now hosting a prime-time talk-show and Conan O'Brien has taken his place at "Tonight" — and that if NBC offered him that job again, he'd take it.

That could be seen as something of a loaded statement, given that O'Brien's ratings as have been disappointing and Leno's 10 p.m. ratings are falling as well. But Leno also insisted O'Brien is "doing fine" at "Tonight."

no. 8 for mel gibson: Mel Gibson reportedly is calling himself "Octo-Mel" after his girlfriend, singer Oksana Grigorieva, gave birth on Friday to a baby girl in Los Angeles. It's their first child together and his eighth child overall.

"This will confirm that Oksana Grigorieva and Mel Gibson welcomed the arrival of a baby girl named Lucia on Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, at an undisclosed hospital in Los Angeles," says Gibson's rep, Alan Nierob, in a statement. No further details were available.

ADAM LAMBERT SINGLE AGAIN: "American Idol" star Adam Lambert is back on the market, having recently broken up with his longtime boyfriend Drake LaBry, reports said Monday.

"It was mainly because Adam's life is so hectic," a friend of Lambert's told People magazine. Lambert's debut album is due in stores Nov. 23.

FELDMAN DUMPED: Corey Feldman's wife has filed for divorce after seven years of marriage.

Court records show Susannah Feldman filed for divorce last week and cited irreconcilable differences for the breakup. The couple were married in October 2002. They have a 5-year-old son.

That's too bad. Well, at least Feldman has his career to fall back ... oh, never mind.

Feldman gained fame in 1980s films such "The Goonies" and "The Lost Boys."

Susannah Feldman is seeking sole custody of their son, with visitation rights for Corey Feldman. She is also seeking an unspecified amount of spousal support.