Rihanna made her first appearance in court during ASAP Rocky’s assault trial Wednesday, with the singer seated in the gallery as the downtown Los Angeles court heard key testimony about an alleged shooting that could send her rap star partner to prison for nearly 20 years.
On the witness stand was Terell Ephron, a.k.a. ASAP Relli, a co-founder of ASAP Mob, the Harlem rap collective that helped launch Rocky’s career. Ephron testified that he met up with Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, in Hollywood on Nov. 6, 2021, in the hopes of fixing their broken friendship.
Ephron said the two had drifted apart as Mayers’ star rose and the other members of the crew struggled to find success. Aside from Mayers, most members of the ASAP crew are now “broke or bums,” Ephron previously testified.
“I call him Mr. Six Month Man, cause I’d see him once every six months … when he’d come around, he was fake. What are we supposed to be in this ASAP thing for?” Ephron asked. “It was all smoke and mirrors.”
Tensions between the two were high that night, Ephron testified, after he overheard Mayers insulting him on a phone call the day before. Ephron also erroneously believed Mayers had reneged on a promise to pay for the funeral of an ASAP collective member who had died of an overdose.
Ephron said he was hoping to squash the beef with Mayers when they met near the W Hotel on the night of the shooting, but Mayers showed up with two other members of the ASAP crew and immediately sparked a confrontation.
“It was all like a movie … just the way he was walking … the whole thing caught me off guard, like there was no time to talk,” Ephron said.
Prosecutors have accused Mayers of shooting at Ephron, who suffered a graze wound on his hand.
Mayers is charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and faces a sentencing enhancement for using a gun in the alleged crime. Mayers has pleaded not guilty, with lawyers claiming the gun used in the encounter was a music video prop incapable of firing real bullets.
When Mayers arrived for court around 9:45 a.m., he was flanked by his usual entourage and mobbed by media, but his paramour was nowhere in sight. Rihanna’s presence in court wasn’t confirmed until a little after 10 a.m., when she was spotted by reporters sitting among Mayers’ family dressed in a black pea coat and sporting glasses.
The “Umbrella” singer could be seen watching Ephron’s testimony intently. She is not a witness in the case, though her relationship to Mayers came up during jury selection. L.A. County Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold made no mention of her presence, and it was not clear if jurors were aware she was in court.
Her representatives have not responded to prior requests for comments on the case.
There is video of the confrontation between Mayers and Ephron, but it does not show the full incident.
One clip shows a man in a hooded sweatshirt, who prosecutors and Ephron say is Mayers, grabbing Ephron around the head and neck, then pulling a gun from his waistband. Another shows the shooting from a distance but doesn’t clearly show anyone’s face, though it does capture audio of two loud pops that sound like gunshots.
Mayers’ defense attorney Joe Tacopina — who is likely to begin cross-examining Ephron on Thursday — has said the weapon was a “prop gun” that only fired blanks.
Ephron said Mayers pointed a gun at his head, face and chest as the two had a screaming match. Ephron insisted he had no intention for things to turn violent, claiming he didn’t want to hurt his old friend or tank his career in the music industry.
“If I fight Rocky … I’m already not liked … so if I’m fighting him I’m definitely getting blackballed. All the labels like him and work with him,” Ephron said.
The clash was interrupted when a couple walked by, according to Ephron. But just as things seemed to be settling down, Ephron said he saw one of the men Mayers brought with him — Jamel Phillips, a.k.a. ASAP 12vvy — putting away a knife. At that point, Ephron said, he felt betrayed and furious.
“I’m like, oh, hell no. So now I’m walking with them and I’m literally screaming out at the top of my lungs … how Rocky failed us, and how Jamel went on tour with Rocky for 8 or 9 years and he’s back in the projects,” Ephron said. “I knew I would never see this dude again … I probably would have walked away if I hadn’t seen the knife.”
