IN what may be one of the last, big-time celeb rity interviews she does before taking over as anchor of ABC’s evening newscast, Diane Sawyer went out with a bang.
Her primetime interview with pop singer Rhianna — who spoke for the first time about being beaten up by her ex-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown — was tied for the No. 1 show of the night and drew an audience of just over 8 million viewers.
That is huge for a news show, especially on a Friday night, traditionally the least-watched night of the week.
Sawyer is set to take over the nightly news job from Charles Gibson shortly after the new year.
Like Katie Couric — who also moved from morning TV to the evening news — it is expected that Sawyer will no longer be interviewing celebrities in trouble and will concentrate more on traditional, serious newsmakers.
PHOTOS: Rihanna in Times Square
Watch the Rihanna interview below.