Ronald Fenty, Rihanna’s father, has passed away at age 70. The news was first reported by Starcom Network, a Barbados-based outlet, and later confirmed by People magazine. According to Starcom, Fenty died in Los Angeles following a brief illness. Details surrounding his official cause of death and the exact date have not yet been disclosed.
Sources close to the family told Starcom that Fenty’s loved ones were by his side around the time of his passing. Photos published by TMZ show Rihanna’s younger brother, Rajad Fenty, arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 28, with reports that Rihanna was also present in the vehicle. Representatives for the singer have not commented publicly on the matter as of Saturday, May 31.
Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in 1988, Rihanna is the daughter of Ronald Fenty and Monica Braithwaite. The Grammy-winning artist and beauty mogul is currently pregnant with her third child with rapper A$AP Rocky. The couple is already parents to sons RZA, 2, and Riot, 1. Alongside Rihanna and Rajad, Ronald Fenty was also the father to Rorrey Fenty and three children from previous relationships—Samantha, Kandy, and Jamie.
While Rihanna’s rise to global stardom has often been linked to her Caribbean roots and family legacy, her relationship with her father has been notably complex. In 2009, after the singer was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown, Fenty spoke to the media about the incident without Rihanna’s permission—an action she later addressed in an interview with Vogue, calling it “really strange.”
“You grow up with your father, you know him, you are a part of him, for goodness’ sakes,” she said at the time, per Billboard. “And then he does something so bizarre that I can’t begin to wrap my mind around it.”
Despite tensions, Rihanna shared in a 2012 interview with Oprah that she and her father had taken steps to rebuild their relationship. However, strains resurfaced in 2019 when she filed a lawsuit accusing Fenty of using her name and brand without authorization. According to the complaint, he launched a company named Fenty Entertainment and misrepresented himself as her manager to secure business deals. Rihanna later dropped the lawsuit in 2021, just weeks before it was set to go to trial.
Ronald Fenty’s passing comes during a transformative time for the Fenty mogul as she prepares to welcome her third child into the world. The star has yet to publicly comment on her father’s reported passing.
