To the excitement of swarming paparazzi, Rihanna made a courthouse appearance on Wednesday, as anticipated by a TMZ report. The superstar arrived at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles to support her partner, the rapper A$AP Rocky (legal name Rakim Mayers). He faces felony assault charges for allegedly firing a semi-automatic handgun at a former friend in November 2021. If found guilty, he faces a sentence of up to 24 years.
According to People, Rihanna sat between Rocky’s mother and sister as his ex-friend A$AP Relli (legal name Terell Ephron) testified about what happened during the alleged shooting. “I see Rocky turn around. When he turns around, he’s like, it kind of looked like a movie. He kind of pointed down and shot the first shot. I felt my hand hot,” Ephron said. Rocky’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, claimed that the rapper had been carrying a “prop gun” for protection and that Relli has ulterior motives: “For Relli, it was never about justice … it’s about a man seeking a profit from a fabricated narrative.” The jurors, who during selection were reportedly asked whether they listen to Rihanna, are still processing.
In case it wasn’t clear enough that Rihanna is standing by her man, she and A$AP were spotted on a date last night.