Rihanna Makes Dramatic First Courthouse Appearance to Support A$AP Rocky

Rihanna made her courthouse debut as she supported partner A$AP Rocky on Wednesday, Jan. 29 amid his ongoing trial in Los Angeles.

The “Diamonds” singer, 36, dressed in all black while sitting between Rocky’s mother, Renee Black, and his sister, Erika B. Mayers, at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press. This marks the first time Rihanna has publicly shown her support for her partner of five years, with whom she shares sons RZA, 2, and Riot Rose, 17 months.

Rocky, real name is Rakim Mayers, is accused of firing a semi-automatic handgun at his former friend A$AP Relli during an altercation in November 2021. On Jan. 21, the “Praise the Lord” rapper, 36, declined a plea deal that would have him serve 180 days in jail while receiving a seven-year suspended sentence with three years of probation. Instead, he opted for a jury trial while facing two felony charges of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, facing up to 24 years in prison if found guilty.

As Rihanna sat watching, Terell Ephron a.k.a. A$AP Relli took the witness stand, testifying that he met up with Rocky in Hollywood on Nov. 6, 2021, hoping to fix their fractured friendship. Instead, Relli said Rocky showed up with two other members of the A$AP crew, sparking a confrontation.

“It was all like a movie … just the way he was walking … the whole thing caught me off guard, like there was no time to talk,” Relli claimed. Prosecutors claim that the subsequent altercation ended with Rocky shooting at Relli, who suffered a graze wound on his hand.

Rocky’s defense attorney Joe Tacopina has claimed said the weapon wielded was a “prop gun” that only fired blanks, and that his client is licensed to carry a firearm in California. “For Relli, it was never about justice… it’s about a man seeking a profit from a fabricated narrative,” Tacopina claimed in court. “Rocky has nothing to hide here.”

Relli has also filed a civil lawsuit for assault, battery and emotional distress against Rocky, submitting the filing on on Aug. 10, 2022. The “Am I Dreaming” rapper has denied all claims against him.