A$AP Rocky trial biggest moments: Rihanna appearances, Relli's lively testimony

USA Today

14-02-2025

A$AP Rocky trial biggest moments: Rihanna appearances, Relli's lively testimony
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What to know about rapper A$AP Rocky's trial
A$AP Rocky has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. Rocky could serve up to 24 years in prison.
A jury will soon begin deliberating in A$AP Rocky's trial for allegedly shooting former friend A$AP Relli in 2021.
Rocky, born Rakim Mayers, is charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm after he allegedly shot in the direction of Terell Ephron, formerly known as A$AP Relli, over an argument near a Hollywood, California, hotel on Nov. 6, 2021. The 36-year-old rapper could serve up to 24 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Opening statements began Jan. 24 in the three-week-long trial. The rapper is accused of brandishing a gun and firing shots that grazed his former friend's knuckles. Rocky and his defense attorney, Joe Tacopina, claim the gun was a prop firearm. Closing arguments were made Thursday and a jury will decide whether the ASAP Mob member is guilty or not guilty. The jury may begin deliberation Friday.
Here are the biggest moments from the three-week trial.
A$AP Rocky declines to testify in his felony assault trial
Rihanna supports A$AP Rocky in classy court-wear
Rihanna, Rocky's longtime partner and the mother of his two children, has steadily appeared in court throughout the trial, according to The Associated Press and Rolling Stone, sitting alongside his mother and sister. The couple share sons RZA, 2, and Riot Rose, 1.
Her appearances have been accompanied by stylish, noir chic ensembles: a button-up white top and skinny black tie here, a glen plaid gray jacket and slacks there. Following one of the days' proceedings, flanked by media, a reporter asked how she was holding up. The superstar replied: "I'm good, thank you," according to the AP.
On Feb. 13, Rihanna brought in reinforcements for the case's closing arguments and sat in the courtroom with her and Rocky's two sons, according to the AP and Rolling Stone.
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky relationship timeline: How the couple's romance began
A$AP Relli's critical testimony gets lively, combative
The trial has been punctuated by passionate testimony from its key witness and alleged victim, Ephron.
During cross-examination on Jan. 30, Ephron seemingly grew impatient as Tacopina questioned him in court. He caused a stir when he shouted at Rocky: "You did this to yourself!" Judge Mark Arnold sternly instructed Ephron to "not talk to the defendant," leading the judge to call a brief recess so Ephron's lawyer could explain to him how to answer properly in court.
Rocky's attorney and Ephron continued to butt heads throughout his four-day testimony, including attempts to contradict Ephron's earlier testimony that he had no social media presence due to backlash for coming forward about the alleged shooting. "Why are you showing my Instagram? I'm already getting death threats," Ephron said to Tacopina during cross-examination.
Earlier in the trial, Ephron reversed previous testimony, in which he said a video of him at a gun club had been filmed in New Jersey. He admitted he was shooting a semiautomatic gun two weeks before the alleged shooting took place, according to Rolling Stone and Courthouse News Service. Throughout his time on the stand, Ephron delivered lively testimony, and his contradictory statements could complicate the jury's verdict.
"I just wanted to stop talking to you," Ephron told Tacopina when asked why the story changed, according to the outlets.
Ephron also spent time calling out his former friend, saying he "likes to lie" and labeling him "Mr. Six Month Man" because he would only see him every six months as their relationship soured.
A$AP Relli tells alleged story of A$AP Rocky shooting: 'Like a movie'
In his testimony, Ephron claimed the impetus for their altercation was a phone call in which he overheard Rocky call him a series of slurs. When the two met up the following day, Ephron alleged Rocky pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and held it against his stomach and head.
Ephron previously described how Rocky allegedly "shot down" with the gun and explained what was shown in surveillance footage from the incident that was presented to the courtroom.
"The whole thing was like a movie; he kind of like pointed it down and he shot the first shot," he said. "When he shot the first shot, I felt my hand: hot. So I grabbed (Illijah Ulanger, also known as A$AP Illz), used him as a shield."
Ulanger, who'd allegedly arrived with Rocky, was "petrified" and "screaming no, no, no," Ephron described.
A$AP Rocky's prop gun defense
As the trial began, Rocky and his attorney claimed that the item the "Tailor Swif" rapper was carrying was not a real firearm but rather a starter pistol – a prop gun – that contained no live rounds, per Rolling Stone and The Associated Press. According to the Los Angeles Times, Rocky's attorney previously said he was unable to bring the gun in as evidence to present at trial.
Another A$AP member — Jamel Phillips, aka A$AP Twelvyy — testified during the second and third weeks of trial that Ephron had been the aggressor of the Hollywood incident and that the gun fired that night was a prop firearm, according to Billboard. Rolling Stone and the AP report that Twelvyy said he and Ephron knew Rocky's firearm was not real.
On Jan. 29, Ephron attested it was a real gun. Ephron told the courtroom he'd returned to the scene after police arrived to investigate a report of a shooting and found two shell casings. Per the LA Times, Tacopina previously cast doubt on Ephron's claim that he'd found such evidence that had been missed by investigating officers.
The mysterious meaning of A$AP Rocky's 'AWGE'
A peculiar moment in the trial happened elsewhere in Twelvyy's testimony. After prosecutors showed a photo of a bedroom purportedly taken at the rapper's West Hollywood home, on Feb. 7 Twelvyy was asked by Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John Lewin what "AWGE" stands for.
The acronym, which was found at the foot of the bed in the exhibit, is the name of Rocky's creative agency and record label, and its meaning has been notoriously hidden.
Rocky interjected from the defense table, "Don't say it," according to Billboard. Twelvyy claimed he had his interpretation of what the acronym stood for but did not confidently know the meaning. The trial then paused for a sidebar.
Afterward, when Lewin asked Twelvyy if he had heard the command, he denied it. "I heard something. I'm not too sure what I heard; I was listening to you," he said. Later, he added, "I know what A$AP means; I don't know what AWGE means."
The judge then called for the court to take a break, and the "AWGE" questioning was seemingly dropped.
A$AP Rocky turns down 180-day sentence plea deal
Before the trial, Rocky shocked onlookers after he turned down a plea deal that would have resulted in 180 days in prison.
Rocky rejected his final plea deal offer from Los Angeles prosecutors on Jan. 21, according to Rolling Stone and The Associated Press. The offer would have required three years probation, 52 weeks of anger management and 480 hours of community service, Rolling Stone reported. It also included a seven-year suspended sentence (which would be delayed and not enforced if certain probation requirements were met).
The plea would have also left Rocky with a felony record, affecting his ability to travel and, therefore, work and perform, according to the outlet.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson and Pamela Avila, USA TODAY