Rihanna makes court appearance at trial of partner ASAP Rocky

By Andrew Dalton, Associated Press

Rihanna has attended the Los Angeles trial of her partner, rapper ASAP Rocky with whom she has two toddlers, for the first time.

The singer superstar sat in the Los Angeles criminal court on Wednesday morning next to Rocky’s mother and sister. He has been standing trial on charges that he fired a handgun at a former friend.

Rocky’s lawyers said before the trial began on January 21st that Rihanna could appear in the court to support him, but it was unlikely, and that he might be too protective of her and their family to want her present.

When jurors were being selected, prosecutors asked them whether Rihanna’s connection to the case, especially if she appeared in court, would affect their ability to deliver a guilty verdict.

Nearly all those questioned had heard of her – far more than had heard of Rocky – and some described themselves as fans, but all said they felt it would not affect their decisions.

Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Athelston Mayers, could get up to 24 years in prison if he is convicted of two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm.

He and Rihanna, both 36, have two sons together: two-year-old RZA Athelston Mayers and one-year-old Riot Rose Mayers. She revealed she was pregnant with the younger boy after headlining the Super Bowl halftime show in 2023 with a visible baby bump.

The singer and the rapper, who are both fashion moguls, first became close when he provided a verse for her 2012 song Cockiness (Love It) and they performed it at the MTV Video Music Awards. They became a couple in 2020.

She attended on Wednesday as a former friend of Rocky gave evidence about the moment the hip-hop performer allegedly fired a gun at him on a Hollywood street in 2021.

The trial’s key witness, known as ASAP Relli, is providing what is likely to be the trial’s most important piece of evidence when he returns to the witness box.