Rihanna’s Father, Ronald Fenty, Dies at 70

Ronald Fenty, the father of global music icon Rihanna, has passed away at the age of 70. According to TMZ, he died in Los Angeles following an illness.

Ronald had a complicated and often troubled relationship with his daughter, shaped by years of personal struggles. He had battled addiction to crack cocaine and alcoholism for much of his life. In a past interview with Oprah, Rihanna revealed that her father physically abused her mother during her childhood—at one point even breaking her nose.

In 2008, Ronald was asked to leave Rihanna’s North American tour due to disruptive behavior, including being drunk on her tour bus. This incident reportedly led to a two-year estrangement between father and daughter.

Despite their rocky history, Rihanna made efforts to help him. In 2013, she quietly paid $58,000 for a Malibu rehab program to help Ronald avoid jail time after an arrest during a visit to California.

However, just a year later, he made headlines again after being removed from Rihanna’s Diamond Ball for getting drunk and falling on the red carpet. He left California without seeing his daughter on that trip, but the two eventually reconciled once more.