Rihanna shares statement on A$AP Rocky’s gun trial verdict

19 February, 2025

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are seen outside of Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on February 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

Rihanna has responded to A$AP Rocky being found not guilty in the trial for a past shooting incident.

Rocky – real name Rakim Athelaston Mayers – was found innocent on all counts by an LA jury yesterday (February 18) after being charged for allegedly firing a gun at his former friend A$AP Relli in the Hollywood area in 2021.

He faced 24 years in prison after turning down a plea deal for 180 days in jail. When the verdict was announced, Rocky’s rushed over to hug his partner Rihanna as the courtroom erupted with a loud roar.

According to the LA Times, Rocky thanked the jury for “saving my life” following the verdict, and added that they had “made the right decision”.

Rihanna – who appeared at several of the trial dates, but was not called in to testify – has since reacted to the news on social media.

Sharing a brief statement on her Instagram Stories, the ‘Umbrella’ pop star wrote: “The glory belongs to God and God alone! Thankful, humbled by his mercy! 🙏🏿” See the screenshot below.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky met in 2012, and began a romantic relationship in 2020. The couple are not married, but share two children. They welcomed their second son in August 2023.

The almost-month-long trial began on January 24, with prosecutors arguing over evidence that Rocky pointed a gun at A$AP Relli  – real name Terell Ephron – and fired, grazing the latter’s knuckles.

During the trial, prosecutors told jurors that Rocky had fired multiple shots from a 9mm semiautomatic pistol during the altercation in Hollywood in 2021.

His lawyer Joseph Tacopina said the rapper had admitted to pulling the trigger on a firearm he was carrying that night, and that he fired “two warning shots” from his “starter gun” to break up an alleged fight between Relli and A$AP Illz (real name Illijah Ulanger) – another member of their A$AP Mob collective.

He added that the weapon used that night was a “prop gun” from a music video he had filmed months earlier with Rihanna, described in the trial as his “life partner”. Due to the gun being a prop, there were no shell casings fired from the firearm.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are seen outside of Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on February 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in LA on February 18. CREDIT: DUTCH/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty

As reported by Variety, a crucial turning point in the trial saw Ephron confirm that he was at a shooting range two weeks before the shooting incident. This allowed for Rocky’s lawyers to argue that the two shell casings he found at the crime scene – after police searches of the area came up empty – had been planted by Relli.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Tacopina said A$AP Rocky was “very well loved” in LA. “I’ve been here for over a month and just me walking around… people were just wishing me luck for him,” he said.

“I mean, he’s loved very well, loved in the city… he’s got a lot of fans, and that doesn’t happen because he’s a singer. It happens because of who he is as a person. He does incredible charity work. He gives back to the community.”

He continued: “He’s become a dear friend of mine more than a client. And that’s why cases like this are really difficult for me because there’s so much on the line. I mean, I care about every client I represent to the point where they become family.

“This was at a different level. And so I was just not prepared for, I would not accept any other verb for this one.”

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