Rihanna Sues Father for Use of Her Name

Rihanna is reportedly suing her father, Ronald Fenty and his entertainment company for using her name professionally without her consent.

Rihanna has a long and tumultuous history when it comes to her father and business. According to a new report by The Blast, it just got even more entangled. Rihanna has filed a lawsuit against Fenty and Fenty Entertainment, as well as another man named Moses Perkins. It claims that their company has used Rihanna’s names to solicit business from concert venues, claiming that they represent her when they do not.

“Although Mr. Fenty is Rihanna’s father, he does not have, and never has had, authority to act on Rihanna’s behalf,” the lawsuit states.

The “Umbrella” singer claims that she has nothing to do with Fenty Entertainment, and that her father and his partner have nothing to do with her career. Still, they somehow booked a $15 million tour through South and Central America in her name without letting her know. They also reportedly booked two concerts at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and another in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for $400,000. Ronald Fenty reportedly told the venues that he was in communication with Rihanna’s label, Roc Nation, which he was not.

The lawsuit points out that Rihanna and her lawyers have sent multiple cease and desist letters to Fenty and Perkins for various business ventures using the brand name “Fenty.”

Last year, Ronald Fenty reportedly tried to trademark the last name, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark office denied him. At her wit’s end, Rihanna filed the lawsuit as a last resort, hoping for an injunction against Ronald Fenty and unspecified damages for the stolen business and damage to her reputation.

This is not the first time Rihanna‘s father has gotten in trouble for misrepresenting the Fenty name. He attempted to use it for a chain of boutique hotels, but that ended when his trademark was denied.

In the past, Rihanna has been candid about her more personal struggles with her father. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, she described witnessing her father break her mother’s nose, and lots of other violent abuse. On social media, some fans claimed that Rihanna was being petty with her new lawsuit. Others argued that Ronald Fenty deserved the decisive action.

“Y’all calling Rihanna petty but her dad is really the petty one,” one fan tweeted. “She trademarked Fenty. He has started businesses using Fenty. He wasn’t worried about doing shit with that Fenty name till she built a brand for HERSELF.”