Rihanna has spoken out after A$AP Rocky was acquitted in his felony assault trial. The singer, 36, shared her deep gratitude just moments after the jury delivered its verdict on Tuesday, February 18.
On Instagram Stories, Rihanna wrote, “THE GLORY BELONGS TO GOD AND GOD ALONE,” in all caps. She added, “THANKFUL, HUMBLED BY HIS MERCY!”
A$AP Rocky, also 36, whose real name is Rakim Athelaston Mayers, had been accused of firing a semi-automatic handgun at fellow A$AP Mob member A$AP Relli during an incident in November 2021. If convicted, he could have faced up to 24 years in prison.
The couple, who have been together since 2020, are parents to two young sons—RZA, 2½, and Riot, 18 months.
After the verdict was announced at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, A$AP Rocky also expressed his thanks. “Thank y’all for saving my life. Thank y’all for making the right decision,” he said, before embracing his family and Rihanna.
In a post-trial speech, he continued, “I gotta thank God first. And I really want to thank the jury for making the right decision. I’m just so thankful. This has been crazy for the past four years, but I’m thankful and blessed to be here as a free man talking to you all.”
Later, Rocky took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a brief message: “DON’T BE DUMB,” urging others to learn from his experiences.
Rihanna had attended many of Rocky’s court hearings during the trial, sometimes bringing their children, a move that did not sit well with prosecutors. District Attorney John Lewin had expressed concerns, saying, “No matter how famous his [partner] is, no matter how cute his kids are… he needs to be treated like any other person.”
However, following Lewin’s comments, the judge ruled that there should be no further mention of Rihanna or the couple’s children in the courtroom.
Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, had previously denied the allegations, arguing that the weapon involved was merely a “prop gun.” He also suggested that the case was more about “seeking profit from a fabricated narrative” than justice, maintaining that Rocky had nothing to hide.
Before the verdict, A$AP Rocky had rejected a plea deal from prosecutors and chose to face a jury trial instead of pleading guilty to charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
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