Ronald Fenty, Rihanna’s father, passes away at age 70

The 37-year-old pop artist, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, has not yet publicly addressed her loss. However, on Saturday, May 31, Starcom Network revealed that her father, Ronald Fenty, had died after a “brief illness.”

Without providing any other information, the outlet stated that “family members have gathered in California, where Fenty passed away in the early hours of this morning.”

The report was later verified by PEOPLE magazine, although the cause and date of his death have not yet been made public.

The announcement follows TMZ’s allegation from a few days ago that Rihanna’s brother Rajad Fenty was spotted in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, as well as the “Umbrella” hitmaker.

In addition, Ronald is survived by his 35-year-old son Rorrey Fenty, Rihanna’s mother Monica Braithwaite, with whom he divorced in 2002, and daughters Kandi, 54, and Samantha Fenty, 44.

Ronald and Monica had raised their kids in Bridgetown, Barbados, where she was an accountant and he was a warehouse supervisor, until they got divorced.

Growing up, Rihanna had a difficult connection with her father, and when he addressed the media following her 2009 assault by then-boyfriend Chris Brown, she was at the center of a public dispute with him.

She did, however, observe in the years that followed that she had “repaired” her relationship with her father and had to “come to terms” with prior events.

“He taught me everything, and even though he was terrible to my mom, sometimes that didn’t compare to how great he was as a father,” she said to Oprah Winfrey.

“And I was able to bridge that gap with him after I had to accept that.”

In spite of this, Rihanna filed a lawsuit against her father in 2019 for allegedly using her name for financial advantage, but he decided to drop the case weeks before it reached trial.

Ron previously expressed his approval of his daughter’s relationship with rapper A$AP Rocky, with whom the “Diamonds” singer is presently expecting her third kid. The couple already has two children together, Rza and Riot, who is 22 months old.