Rihanna and A$AP Rocky . Photo:
Snorlax / MEGA
The prosecution team in A$AP Rocky‘s assault trial took issue with the rapper’s kids making an appearance in court.
On Friday, Feb. 14, District Attorney John Lewin asked the jury not to be swayed by the appearance of Rocky’s kids and partner, Rihanna, in court during closing statements. The rapper is accused of firing a semi-automatic handgun at his former friend and A$AP Mob member A$AP Relli in an altercation in November 2021.
“This is not something you’re allowed to consider,” Lewin told the jury at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles. “We are all responsible for what we do.”
He continued, “I want to make sure that no matter how famous his [partner] is, no matter how cute his kids are, no matter how much they giggle during closing arguments… he needs to be treated like any other person. Because in the end that’s what he’s entitled to.”
When Lewin made these comments to the jury, Rocky and Rihanna, both 36, shifted in their seats and looked visibly upset. When the court returned from a break, the judge addressed these comments.
“From here on out, there should be no mention of Rihanna being in the courtroom or the babies being in the courtroom,” he said.
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky in Los Angeles on Feb. 14, 2025. Snorlax / MEGA
Rihanna has made an appearance in court on several days of the trial since it began on Jan. 21. On Feb. 13, however, she walked in during the prosecution’s opening statements with her two toddlers. During the court proceedings, RZA, 2½, and Riot, 18 months, were well-behaved and hardly made any noise.
The children only stayed until the next break and Rocky and Rihanna walked out of the courtroom holding their sons. Toward the end of the break, they huddled and Rihanna told her sons, “wish Daddy good luck” as Rocky gave Rihanna and the babies a kiss.
The “Fashion Killa” rapper turned down a plea deal from prosecutors and opted for a jury trial instead of pleading guilty to one of two felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. He is facing up 24 years in prison if found guilty.
In opening statements, Rocky’s lawyer Joe Tacopina claimed the rapper was carrying a “prop gun” in the case of potential threats.
“For Relli, it was never about justice… it’s about a man seeking a profit from a fabricated narrative,” Tacopina said. “Rocky has nothing to hide here.”
Meanwhile, the prosecution team recounted the events leading up to the altercation, claiming that Relli showed up thinking they would just “argue” and it would “repair their relationship.”
“This is not a complicated case,” Przelomiec said in his opening statement. “The defense will turn in an alternative explanation to what happened that night… we ask that you do not leave your common sense at the door.”
A$AP Rocky and Rihanna in June 2022. SplashNews.com
During closing statements, which began on Feb. 13, both sides reiterated their major points and the prosecution called the defense’s claim that the gun was a prop gun “illogical” and “absurd.”
Meanwhile, the defense told the jury there was inconsistencies in Relli’s story and he “lied to your faces.”
“Everything that doesn’t come from Relli shows you that this is not a real gun,” he said.
After Rocky’s arraignment in January 2024, Tacopina told reporters that the “Praise the Lord” rapper was “cool as a cucumber.” He also said Rocky was ready to get the trial “over with so he can start enjoying his family.”
Relli filed a civil lawsuit on allegations of assault, battery and emotional distress against Rocky on Aug. 10, 2022. Rocky has denied all claims.
In response to the civil complaint, Rocky’s attorney’s wrote “Defendant generally denies each and every allegation of the complaint, and specifically denies that Plaintiff has been damaged in any amount or in any way as a result of any act or omission of answering defendant. The injuries and/or damages complained of in the complaint, if any, were caused solely, directly and proximately by the negligent and/or intentional acts or omissions of person other than answering defendant.”
Relli claimed he was struck by bullet fragments after the argument and said in court that he sought necessary medical attention at a hospital in New York City.
While on the stand in November, Relli claimed they were “really cool” before tension started because Rocky found solo success and became “big-headed.”
Rocky was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 20, 2022 and released on bail the same day, Los Angeles Times.
