Barbadian-American singer and beauty mogul, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, has lost her father, Ronald Fenty, who passed away at age 70 after a brief illness.

The sad incident happened earlier this week, and Rihanna’s younger brother, Rajad Fenty, along with close family members, were said to be by their father’s side at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles during his final moments.

According to US reports, the singer is currently pregnant with her third child for rapper and partner A$AP Rocky, making the news even more emotional for the family.

Ronald Fenty was no stranger to public attention. Over the years, his relationship with Rihanna had been described as strained, with long periods of silence and even legal battles.

In 2019, Rihanna filed a lawsuit against her father for using her name without permission to promote a company called Fenty Entertainment, where he allegedly posed as her manager.

The case was later dropped in 2021, just before trial.

Their relationship had earlier been rocked in 2009 when Ronald granted interviews without Rihanna’s consent, following the widely publicised assault by her then-boyfriend, Chris Brown.

In an interview with Vogue, Rihanna said, “You grow up with your father, you know him, you are a part of him… and then he does something so bizarre that I can’t begin to wrap my mind around it.”

Despite all this, father and daughter were said to have made peace in recent years.

Ronald reportedly expressed pride in Rihanna’s journey into motherhood and her global success in music, fashion, and business.

Ronald Fenty is survived by several children, including Rihanna, Rajad, Rorrey, Samantha, Kandy, and Jamie, and was previously married to Monica Braithwaite, Rihanna’s mother.

The couple separated when Rihanna was young and officially divorced in 2002, when she was 14.