Ronald Fenty, father of singer Rihanna, died Saturday at a Los Angeles hospital at age 70, according to multiple reports.
Starcom Network News, a radio station based in the family’s native Barbados, first reported the death, saying it occurred following a brief unknown illness. TMZ published a photograph Wednesday of Rihanna’s brother, Rajad Fenty, arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and reported that the singer was believed to be in the car, although she was not visible in the photograph.
There was no public comment from Rihanna as of Saturday morning. Rihanna is pregnant with her third child with boyfriend A$AP Rocky.
Rihanna and her father had a rocky relationship over the years. Ronald Fenty and the singer’s mother, Monica Braithwaite, divorced in 2002 when Rihanna — whose real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty — was 14. The singer has said in interviews that their relationship was strained for many years over his treatment of her mother and his struggles with substance abuse. But she said the pair eventually reconciled.
The pair got involved in a legal dispute in 2019 over her father’s operation of a business called Fenty Entertainment, with the singer claiming Ronald Fenty was fraudulently claiming the company was affiliated with his famous daughter. Rihanna later dropped the lawsuit.