Rihanna appeared in Los Angeles court earlier today to support ASAP Rocky as he stands trial for felony assault charges stemming from a 2021 shooting incident in Hollywood.
The singer was seated with Rocky’s mother and sister amid the trial that began last week. Rocky is facing two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm stemming from a 2021 incident where associate Terell “Relli” Ephron claimed that Rocky fired a gun at him in the streets of Hollywood. Rocky pleaded not guilty to the charges and turned down a plea deal of 180 days in jail, claiming he was using a prop gun and not an actual firearm. If convicted of his charges, Rocky could face up to 24 years in prison.
Though Rihanna is not expected to testify, she has been mentioned several times in the lead-up to the trial. During jury selection, Los Angeles Superior Judge Mark Arnold was unclear about Rocky’s marital status, asking his lawyer several times to clarify the legal standing of their relationship. Rihanna was also a talking point during jury selection, with prospective jurors asked if their neutrality in deciding the case would be affected if Rihanna were to attend the trial.
Popular on Variety
Rihanna’s appearance in court comes on an abbreviated day of the trial. Ephron took the stand for a second day to detail the incident that took place at a garage across from the W Hotel in Hollywood. He said that he met up with Rocky in Nov. 2021 to settle tensions that arose between them, thinking they would reconcile. But Rocky allegedly pulled the gun and pointed it at Ephron’s head and stomach. His second-day testimony will address the moment after the gun was pulled, and when Ephron said Rocky fired two bullets that grazed his knuckles.
The gun used in the shooting is the point of contention between the prosecutor and defendants. Rocky’s legal team claims that Ephron was the aggressor in the situation and that Rocky used a prop gun that shot blanks to break up a scuffle between Ephron and his team.
Earlier this week, Rocky’s lawyers cross-examined Sgt. Thomas Zizzo, the police officer who responded to reports of a shooting about the absence of evidence at the scene. (Zizzo is also Erika Jayne’s son.) Zizzo said during testimony that he did not witness any physical evidence that a shooting occurred.
Amid his trial, Rocky is nominated for best music video at this Sunday’s Grammy Awards. He is next scheduled to play Rolling Loud California 2025 in March.