Latest news with #MonicaBraithwaite
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Rihanna's father, Ronald Fenty, dead at 70
Rihanna's father, Ronald Fenty, has reportedly died. He was 70. The patriarch passed away early Saturday morning in Los Angeles, according to Starcom Network News, a radio station based in the pop superstar's native country of Barbados. An official cause of death was not immediately known. However, the outlet reported Fenty died following a 'brief illness.' Sources told the radio station that family members have gathered in California to commemorate his life. Photos obtained by Page Six show Rihanna's brother Rajad Fenty arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to visit Ronald on Wednesday. Rihanna was believed to be in the car as well, but she is not visible in the photos. The superstar's rep did not immediately respond to Page Six's request for comment. The Diamonds singer has also not yet publicly commented on her father's passing. The sad news comes as Rihanna is expecting her third child with longtime boyfriend, A$AP Rocky. She announced her pregnancy this month by debuting her growing baby bump at this year's Met Gala. Rihanna, who was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, and her dad had a troubled relationship over the years. The patriarch has reportedly struggled with alcohol and drug abuse, causing conflict between the two. Ronald also divorced Rihanna's mother, Monica Braithwaite, when the Umbrella singer was 14. Rihanna reportedly addressed their estrangement in a 2011 interview with Vogue, calling their relationship 'really strange.' 'That's the only word I can think of to describe it because you grow up with your father … you are a part of him for goodness sakes!' she told the magazine. 'And then he does something so bizarre that I can't begin to wrap my mind around it,' the Work singer reportedly added at the time. '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.'' However, in 2012, Rihanna announced that she and her father had 'repaired' their relationship, telling Oprah Winfrey in an interview that she learned to separate who he was as a father and as a husband. 'He taught me everything, and as awful as he was to my mum, at times, it didn't compare to how great he was as a father,' the Love on the Brain singer said in the sit-down, according to People. 'And I had to come to terms with that, and I was able to close that gap with him.' However, it appeared the father-daughter duo were back on bad terms by 2019. Rihanna sued her dad at the time for allegedly using her name for financial gain through his talent development company, Fenty Entertainment, which he claimed was affiliated with the singer. Rihanna filed to dismiss the lawsuit three weeks before the case went to trial in 2021, per the BBC. After settling the issue, Ronald alleged that the pair had reconciled once again. He previously gushed to Page Six over his role as a grandpa to Rihanna's son RZA, whom she welcomed in May 2022 with Rocky, 36. Ronald said Rihanna had brought the baby back to her home island of Barbados twice and shared of his daughter's first foray into motherhood, 'She's loving it. She's a very over-protective mother.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rihanna's father Ron Fenty dead at 70
Rihanna's father, Ronald Fenty, has died. He was 70. According to Starcom Network, Fenty died in Los Angeles following "a brief illness". His official cause of death has yet to be revealed. Sources told the Barbadian news outlet that Fenty's family was with him around the time of his death. Rihanna - who is currently pregnant with her third baby - was born to Fenty and mother Monica Braithwaite in February 1988. Along with brothers Rajad and Rorrey, Rihanna also has three half-siblings from her father's previous relationships - sisters Samantha and Kandy, and brother Jamie. The family grew up in Bridgetown in Barbados, where Rihanna lived until she was 16. The pair divorced in 2002, when the Umbrella singer was 14. Rihanna's relationship with her father has had its ups and downs over the years. After the star was assaulted by her then-boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009, Fenty reportedly spoke to the press about the incident without his daughter's consent. A year later, Rihanna revealed to Oprah that she had "repaired" her relationship with Fenty, but then in 2019 she sued him for allegedly exploiting her name for financial gain. She filed to dismiss the lawsuit three weeks before it went to court, according to the BBC.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rihanna's Dad Ronald Fenty Dead at 70
Originally appeared on E! Online Rihanna and her family are in mourning. The pregnant "Diamonds" singer's dad Ronald Fenty has died, multiple outlets reported May 31. He was 70. While the cause of his death was not made public, he had recently battled an illness, the reports said. Sources close to the Fentys told Starcom Network News, which is based in their home country of Barbados, that family members gathered in California before Ronald passed away in the early hours of the morning. News of his death comes days after Rihanna's brother Rajad Fenty was photographed arriving at a Los Angeles hospital, reportedly with the Grammy winner in the car, TMZ reported. In addition to the two, Ronald is also survived by the siblings' mom, his ex Monica Braithwaite, and the former couple's other son together, Rorrey Fenty, 35, as well as the patriarch's three kids Samantha Fenty, Kandy Fenty and Jamie Fenty from past relationships. More from E! Online Robin Thicke Marries April Love Geary in Star-Studded Ceremony Machine Gun Kelly's New Photo With His and Megan Fox's Baby Girl Deserves All the Flowers Sydney Sweeney Breaks Silence on Jonathan Davino Breakup Rihanna— who is expecting her third baby with A$AP Rocky—was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty to Ronald and mom Monica Braithwaite in 1988. The 37-year-old's parents had divorced in 2002 when she was 14—two years before she moved from their hometown of Bridgetown, Barbados to the United States. The Fenty Beauty founder said her family "broke up" because of her dad's struggles with addiction, and it took a while for her and her father to move past that. "I repaired my relationship with my dad," Rihanna tearfully told Oprah Winfrey in a 2012 interview, "I was so angry at him. I was just angry about a lot of things from my childhood and I couldn't separate him as a husband from him as a father." Rihanna said she came to realize that he was "probably one of the best fathers in the world." "He taught me everything," she said. "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." Years later, the two became involved in a legal dispute. Rihanna sued her father in 2019 for false advertising, false designation of origin and invasion of privacy—false light publicity. In the lawsuit, obtained by E! News, she alleged that Ronald and his business partner "egregiously and fraudulently misrepresented to third parties and the public" that their company, Fenty Entertainment, was affiliated with her and had the authority to act on her behalf. In 2021, Rihanna filed to dismiss the lawsuit, the BBC reported. For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rihanna's dad dies aged 70
Rihanna's dad has died at the age of 70. The 37-year-old pop star - whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty - has yet to address her loss publicly, but Starcom Network reported on Saturday (31.05.25) that her father, Ronald Fenty had passed away following a "brief illness". The outlet reported that "family members have gathered in California, where Fenty passed away in the early hours of this morning", but gave no further detail. PEOPLE magazine later confirmed the news, although his official cause and date of death have yet to be revealed. The news comes just days after TMZ reported that Rihanna's brother Rajad Fenty had been seen at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and claimed that the 'Umbrella' hitmaker was also with him. Ronald is also survived by Rihanna's mother Monica Braithwaite - whom he split from in 2002 - as well as daughters Kandi, 54, and Samantha Fenty, 44, as well as his 35-year-old son Rorrey Fenty. Prior to their divorce, Ronald and Monica had raised their children in Bridgetown, Barbados where he worked as a warehouse supervisor and she was an accountant. Rihanna had endured a rocky relationship with her father when she was growing up. and was at the centre of a public battle with him when he spoke to the press after she was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009. However, the in the years that followed, she noted that she had "repaired" her relationship with her father and had to learn to "come to terms" with things that had gone in in the past. She told Oprah Winfrey: "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." Despite this, in 2019, Rihanna sued her dad for allegedly exploiting her name for financial gain but elected to dismiss the complaint just weeks before it went to court. The 'Diamonds' songstress is currently expecting her third child with rapper A$AP Rocky - with whom she already has Rza, two, as well as 22-month-old Riot - and Ron previously shared how much he approved of his daughter's relationship. Ron told PageSix in 2023: "He's such a cool guy. Very respectable. He's taking to fatherhood very well."
