Fans Show Love to Rihanna After Her Father’s Passing Is Revealed

Rihanna‘s father, Ronald Fenty, has died at the age of 70. The news broke over the weekend through Barbados’ Starcom Network News, which reported that Fenty passed away early Saturday morning in Los Angeles following a “brief illness.”

Fans started to comment on Rihanna’s Instagram photos with their condolences. One user wrote, “My condolences for your loss Rih.” Another wrote, “Robyn My deepest condolences. 😢❤️‍🩹💔 Stay strong on this difficult time. ❤️‍🩹 Rest in Power Ronald 🥹🙌🏼💔.”

This loss comes at a significant time for Rihanna, who recently revealed she is expecting her third child with longtime partner A$AP Rocky. Rihanna and her father shared a complicated relationship with periods of estrangement and reconciliation. The cause of death has not been officially confirmed.

Rihanna’s Relationship With Her Dad

Ronald Fenty, the patriarch of the Fenty family, and Rihanna had a long, often strained relationship. He struggled with alcohol and drug addiction and divorced Rihanna’s mother, Monica Braithwaite, when the singer was just 14 years old.

Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, once opened up about their challenges in a 2011 Vogue interview, calling their dynamic “really strange.” “That’s the only word I can think of to describe it, because you grow up with your father, you know him, you are a part of him, for goodness’ sakes!” she said at the time. “And then he does something so bizarre that I can’t begin to wrap my mind around it.”

She added, “You hear the horror stories about people going behind people’s backs and doing strange things, but you always think, Not my family. My father would never do that to me.”

Moments of Reconnection and Reconciliation

In 2012, Rihanna spoke with Oprah Winfrey about finding peace with her father. She said, “He taught me everything, and as awful as he was to my mom, at times, it didn’t compare to how great he was as a father. And I had to come to terms with that, and I was able to close that gap with him.”

(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Despite that reconciliation, their relationship hit turbulence again in 2019 when Rihanna sued Ronald for allegedly using her name to promote his talent company, Fenty Entertainment. The lawsuit was dropped just before trial in 2021, and Ronald later claimed they had reconciled.

He expressed joy about being a grandfather to Rihanna’s first child, RZA, saying in 2022, “She’s loving it. She’s a very overprotective mother.” He also shared that Rihanna had brought her son to Barbados twice to visit family.