Music icon and entrepreneur Rihanna’s dad, Ronald Fenty, was laid to rest on July 9, 2025, at Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens in Christ Church, Barbados.
Rihanna’s dad died on May 30 at age 70 after a brief illness. His death certificate listed pancreatic cancer, aspiration pneumonia, and acute respiratory failure among the causes.
Ronald Fenty is survived by six children, Rihanna, her two younger brothers Rorrey and Rajad Fenty. As well as three half-siblings from his previous relationships, sisters Kandy and Samantha, and brother Jamie.
But despite the public farewell, Rihanna and her father did not always share a close or peaceful relationship.
Rihanna’s Rocky Relationship with her Father
Rihanna’s childhood was shaped by the trauma of growing up in a home filled with tension and violence.
Rihanna’s dad struggled with alcohol and crack addiction. And she witnessed repeated domestic abuse between him and her mother, Monica Braithwaite.
In interviews, Rihanna recalled coming home to frightening scenes, especially on Fridays when her father returned drunk.
During an ABC interview, Rihanna said that her dad used to beat her mother. She would try to get between them to break up a fight and even broke a glass bottle once “so they would hear something else,”
After one fight, Rihanna’s mom refused to go to the hospital to fix her broken nose.
Rihanna was not spared her father’s beatings. In one instance, Rihanna says her dad slapped her so hard that she ran home with the handprint still on her face.
Her parents divorced in 2002 when she was 14.
The stress of their marriage left a mark on her, and she suffered migraines and underwent several medical scans as a child.
But after the divorce, the headaches stopped. She has said those years were not filled with good memories, but they shaped her resilience.
Years later, after Rihanna had risen to global fame, her relationship with Ronald continued to be rocky. Despite her success, Ronald Fenty continued to betray and disappoint his daughter.
What did Rihanna’s Dad Say after Chris Brown Abuse?
One of the most public clashes happened in 2009, after she was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown. While Rihanna remained silent, her father gave interviews to the media without her consent.
She was devastated that he spoke to the press before even calling to check on her.
“My dad went to the press and told them a bunch of lies,” she said in an interview.
“He never called to see if I was alive. He just went straight to the media for a cheque.”
Did Rihanna Sue her Father?
The tension escalated in 2019 when Rihanna sued her father for exploiting her name.
She accused him of falsely presenting himself as her manager and starting a company, Fenty Entertainment, using her brand to solicit business deals.
The lawsuit accused Rihanna’s dad of profiting off her name without permission. Though it was a major legal blow, Rihanna dropped the case in 2021, just before it went to trial. This move was widely seen as an effort to reconcile.
Even before that, she had tried to help him. She paid for an expensive Malibu rehab program, hoping he’d finally overcome his addiction. But Ronald later admitted he had let her down by drinking again and being removed from events due to his behavior.
Despite the pain and betrayal, Rihanna eventually made peace with her father.
In a 2012 interview with Oprah Winfrey, she said she had to confront how angry she was and separate the man he was to her mother from the man he was to her.
“As awful as he was to my mom, at times, it did not compare to how great he was as a father,” she said.
In his final days, Rihanna and her brother were present at the hospital.
On the day of his burial, she stood by his casket, laid a rose on it, and later placed a wreath over his grave.
By Vivian K.