LOS ANGELES — During a recent courtroom session, the individual claiming that rapper A$AP Rocky shot at him in 2021 exhibited visible frustration and agitation while being cross-examined. At one moment, he raised his voice at Rocky, who was seated at the defense table with his partner Rihanna in attendance.
The defense’s line of questioning directed at A$AP Relli, the key witness of the trial, faced difficulties as Relli frequently questioned the relevance of the inquiries posed by the defense attorney, Joe Tacopina. The situation escalated to the point where the judge intervened and called for a recess to allow both the prosecution and Relli’s own lawyer to provide guidance on how to proceed with his responses in a more appropriate manner.
Amid the tension in the courtroom, Relli exclaimed, “You did this to yourself!” directed towards Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Athelston Mayers. The judge, Mark Arnold, responded sternly, instructing Relli not to speak to the defendant. Relli defended himself by stating, “He’s staring at me!”
Rocky is facing serious legal challenges, specifically two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm for allegedly aiming a weapon at Relli, whose real name is Terell Ephron. A conviction could result in a prison sentence of up to 25 years. Throughout the proceedings, Rocky appeared composed, dressed in a black suit, and diligently focused on the testimony, not reacting verbally to Relli’s outburst.
Rihanna, the renowned singer and Rocky’s longtime partner, made her court appearance on Wednesday and returned to the courtroom on Thursday, seated between Rocky’s mother and sister. She discreetly entered the courtroom, donning a white top and gold earrings, following along with the proceedings with a calm demeanor.
Relli’s frustration grew as he faced questions from Tacopina. The defense presented screenshots of Relli’s social media posts to counter his previous statement that he had nothing but goodwill for Rocky prior to the incident and claimed that he suffered professionally after deciding to come forward. “Why are you showing my Instagram? I’m already getting death threats,” Relli responded to Tacopina.
Tacopina pressed on, asking, “Who is giving you death threats?” To which Relli replied, “The whole world!” The attorney then inquired further, “The whole world gave you death threats?” and Relli affirmed, “Yeah, cause you’re saying I’m an extortionist and you’re putting my whole life out there.” Relli is pursuing a libel lawsuit against Tacopina over public comments and is also suing Rocky regarding the shooting incident. The defense aims to portray him as someone fabricating stories for financial gain.
The trial had not yet delved deeply into the specifics of the incident when a break was called for lunch. Earlier, during his testimony, Relli recounted the events of a November night in 2021 when he and Rocky experienced a confrontation in Hollywood, during which Rocky allegedly brandished a gun. Relli noted that he had yelled at Rocky while pursuing him, prompting Rocky to pull out the weapon again, which he reportedly held up before shooting.
Relli recalled, “He turned around and then it was like BOOM!” stating that he felt a burning sensation in his hand from a bullet that had grazed him. “I felt my hand hot,” he elaborated, later specifying, “I was hit. Or I was grazed. I didn’t have a hole or nothing.”
The defense argues that the shots fired by Rocky were blanks from a starter pistol used for theatrical purposes, asserting that Relli knew this, which allegedly explained his confident approach towards Rocky. “Oh, it was a real gun,” Relli insisted during his testimony.
Following the incident, Relli claimed he returned to the location about an hour later and collected two shell casings. Notably, when police responded to the initial reports of a shooting, no shell casings were discovered.
Both Rocky and Rihanna are 36 years old and share two young sons: 2-year-old RZA Athelston Mayers and 1-year-old Riot Rose Mayers. Rihanna publicly announced her second pregnancy during her memorable Super Bowl halftime show in 2023.
The couple initially grew close when Rocky featured on Rihanna’s 2012 song “Cockiness (Love It),” which they performed at the MTV Video Music Awards. They officially began dating in 2020.
Hailing from Harlem, Rocky first gained significant recognition in the New York rap scene in 2011, achieving major commercial success with his debut studio album topping the Billboard 200 in 2013. This year appears to be particularly promising for him as he transitions into a multimedia career. He is nominated for a Grammy Award at the upcoming ceremony taking place at Crypto.com Arena, just two miles from the courtroom, and is set to co-star with Denzel Washington in a Spike Lee film, as well as co-chair the Met Gala in May.
