LONDON: Actress Emmy Rossum had a very special reason to publicly thank Rihanna for speaking out about domestic abuse - because she too is a victim.

The Poseidon star took to her Twitter.com blog to praise the R&B star for her bravery after Rihanna agreed to be interviewed about her infamous attack at the hands of ex-boyfriend Chris Brown.

The singer's candid conversation aired on TV in America last week (05-06Nov09), and Rossum was among the first celebrities to salute her.

She wrote, "Just saw the first half of the interview of (newswoman) Diane Sawyer speaking to Rihanna about domestic violence. She speaks honestly, bravely. So many of my friends have experienced this, it's very close to my heart. I urge young women - & really women of any age - to watch it."

And the Poseidon star used the blog to encourage domestic abuse victims not to suffer in silence, even providing the number for a support service.

And now Rossum has taken a step closer to her own big domestic abuse reveal, after appearing on Los Angeles radio show Valentine in the Morning on Thursday (12Nov09) and admitting she's more than just a concerned star.

Asked what compelled her to post her comments online by host Valentine, who suggested she hadn't suffered the same brutality as Rihanna, the actress shot back, "You don't know that I haven't."

The DJ stuck with the story and asked Rossum, "Would you have come forward if you had been in her spot like that?" prompting the actress to stumble over her words, stating, "Like she (Rihanna) said, there's a lot of shame that comes with somebody hurting you and you take a lot of responsibility for it and it's very confusing and upsetting..."

Valentine then asked the star if she had a domestic violence story she'd like to share with his listeners.

Nervous Rossum said, "I'm just not at a point in my life where I'm ready to talk about it."