A$AP Rocky may be busy trying to enjoy family time with Rihanna and their sons, but his assault trial is putting a damper on that.
The rapper—real name Rocky Mayers—is charged with two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm after he allegedly shot at former friend A$AP Relli in 2021. Mayers previously pleaded not guilty to the charges. According to People, video footage of the alleged incident was shown in court on Wednesday, and Relli—real name Terell Ephron—testified.
Ephron detailed how the relationship between he and childhood friend Mayers dissolved after Rocky agreed to help pay for their friend A$AP Josh’s body to be transported back to New York after his death, but the “L$D” rapper allegedly didn’t follow through. During Ephron’s testimony, Rocky’s lawyers pointed out that he actually did pay.
Ephron went on to testify that on Nov. 6, 2021, he and Rocky were supposed to meet at the W Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif. He said Mayers met him at the parking garage with two other members of the A$AP Mob, where the video footage “appeared to show Rocky walking toward Relli and shoving him.”
“He grabbed me on my collar. He was shaking me. I tried to push him off, get his hands off,” Ephron said. “That’s when [Rocky] pulled a gun from his waistband. It was a standard clip and a semi-automatic black gun.”
“He pointed it toward my stomach. ‘I’ll kill you right now,’” Rocky allegedly said to Ephron.
Rihanna is notoriously secretive about most aspects of her life — and especially her private life — so she’s never publicly commented on Rocky’s legal issues. However, she has stood by him since his arrest in April 2022. The “Diamonds” singer is so universally loved, it’s hard to imagine a situation where Rocky’s problems could blow back on her, but at the very least it could lead to a lot of negative publicity that she doesn’t need.
In recent months, there have been rumors of a possible Rihanna music comeback. Her representatives have denied this, but she’s the kind of artist who could just shock the world with a new album. As Rihanna is an artist who doesn’t find herself constantly caught up in scandal, it would be a shame if the alleged actions of a man led to backlash as she’s trying to focus on raising her two babies and possibly restarting her music career.