Rihanna has spoken out after her boyfriend A$AP Rocky was found not guilty in his assault trial.
The 36-year-old artist, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, had been accused of firing a handgun at former friend Terell Ephron, known as A$AP Relli, during an altercation on November 6, 2021, per BBC News.
Ephron alleged that Rocky fired two shots, one of which grazed his knuckle, though he was not seriously injured.
Rocky and Ephron, childhood friends from New York and former members of the A$AP Mob hip-hop collective, had reportedly fallen out as Rocky’s career ascended.
The dispute culminated in the November 2021 confrontation outside a Hollywood hotel, near the Walk of Fame.
Ephron alleged that during the altercation, Rocky pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at him, threatening: “I’ll kill you right now.”
“He looked me in my eyes and pointed the gun at me,” Ephron testified. He claimed that when he dared Rocky to fire, the rapper initially walked away but later turned back and fired multiple shots, one of which allegedly grazed Ephron’s hand.
A key element of the trial was whether the firearm was a real, dangerous weapon – as prosecutors and Ephron claimed – or a harmless prop, as the defense argued. Authorities were never able to recover the weapon in question.
Video evidence played a central role in the case, with jurors reviewing surveillance footage that captured parts of the altercation, including audio of gunfire. However, no footage definitively showed Rocky firing a weapon.
Ephron waited two days before reporting the incident, bringing with him shell casings that he claimed to have collected from the scene.
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Police, however, did not find any casings when they initially responded to reports of gunfire. The prosecution’s case also lacked hospital records from Los Angeles, as Ephron only sought medical treatment after flying back to New York.
Rocky had consistently denied the allegations and rejected a plea deal that would have required him to serve six months in jail.
Instead, he opted for a jury trial – a decision that ultimately cleared him of the charges, which could have resulted in a 24-year prison sentence.
His attorney, Joe Tacopina, had strongly defended his client throughout the trial, calling Ephron “an angry pathological liar” who had “committed perjury again and again and again and again.”
After the verdict was read, Rocky embraced his longtime partner, Rihanna, who had been present in the courtroom gallery.
Rihanna has since spoken out on the verdict, as she took to her Instagram story to write: “The glory belongs to God and God alone. Thankful, humbled by his mercy!”
The courtroom erupted with cheers and applause as the first not-guilty verdict was read.
Rocky immediately rushed toward his family and longtime partner Rihanna, leaping over a wooden barrier to embrace them.
Rihanna, who had been a consistent presence throughout the trial, was accompanied by the couple’s two young sons, RZA and Riot.
